No One Messes with a Potter
by Toffrox33
Summary: After her father is mysteriously killed by death eaters, Leila Potter moves in with her cousin James and starts Hogwarts making both friends & enemies along the way. But still, she is faced with a bigger challenge: Winning the heart of Sirius Black SBxOC
1. Chapter 1: The burrow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!**

No One Messes with a Potter

By Toffrox33

**Chapter One- The Burrow**

17-year-old Leila Potter wandered down the cobbled street. It was the middle of July yet the village was cold and misty. Only Leila knew why; Dementors. She pulled her black coat tighter round her thin body. Her jet-black hair whipped across her face and her pale skin looked even paler in the grey light and cold air. Her close-to-electric blue eyes flashed against the dull moonlight as she scurried to her home. The whole place was quiet, but then, everywhere was quiet these days, it had to be, due to Voldemort on the run.

She lived with her father, Andrew, in a village in Devon. Her Italian mother died when Leila was too young to remember but it never really bothered her. She had often wondered what it would be like to have a mother, but didn't worry much about it. She was very close with her father who was a healer.

She'd dreamt of Hogwarts ever since her cousin James told her about it, back when they were 8, but since she had lived in Italy until a few months ago she'd gone to 'Fascini Academy of Magic'.

Her father told her that they were moving to England halfway through September and Leila never questioned him, she'd been excited, and she never doubted her father. She was to start Hogwarts at the beginning of the year for her seventh year.

Her Uncle Tiberus and cousin, James was visiting this evening, that's why she had to get back home soon.

She shivered and turned off the road, most people would be worried stiff if their children were wandering around alone during these times, with Voldemort slowly growing power. But Leila wasn't stupid, she had her wand in her pocket, which her hand was innocently resting in and had, cast a disillusion charm over her. Besides, she was only walking home from work. All she had to do was get from the bakers to her small, slightly crooked, 2 storey home.

She reached the end of the dirt track and smiled at the sign father had made himself saying 'The Burrow'. A gust of freezing wind blew into her face and she ran the remainder of the thin track to the house.

"Dad! I'm home!" she called breathlessly, closing the door behind her and taking off her long black coat and revealing jeans and red, long sleeved top. Her father didn't answer, she assumed he was in his study or asleep and hung her coat on the coat peg.

She noticed that the fire was almost out and re-lit it with her wand before taking out some mugs and a kettle. She rapped the kettle with her wand, filling it with water and put it above the fire to boil. Then went looking for her father.

"Dad! Dad?" she called. No answer. Frowning, she walked to the stairs and called again but there was still no answer. That was odd, he was a light sleeper and had good hearing plus his study was upstairs.

She began to get a little worried, surely no one could have come in. There were protections around the house… then again, spells could be broken, and she hadn't felt any spells as she came inside. She could usually feel the brush of magic.

Feeling even more worried, Leila ran to the closest room; the living room.

Then she screamed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

James grabbed onto his Dad's arm as they apparated to outside a small, slightly wonky looking, 2 storey house. James smiled, it was such a 'Leila like' house.

The sign nearby them was quite obviously Uncle Andrew's handwriting; bold, wonky and big. It read 'The Burrow'. Also something 'Leila like'.

James used the phrase 'Leila like' a lot. Sirius, Peter and Remus had asked about it but he never told them, they were under the impression that it meant strange.

Then there was a long, drawn out scream.

Leila's scream.

Both of them ran to the house. James got there first.

"Leila!" he yelled, no answer. He ran into the lounge to find Leila leant against the wall, Uncle Andrew was lying on the floor. His face set in an expression of defiance and his eyes glassy and lifeless.

"Leila?" James said softly. Leila collapsed into her cousin's arms, bursting into tears. James' dad came running into the room and froze. He gasped, froze then slowly sank into the nearest armchair.

After a few seconds of silence Dad bent down and closed Uncle Andrew's eyes before conjuring a bed into the room so the body seemed asleep on a bed in the middle of the living room. The body's hand slipped off the edge of the bed, revealing a piece of parchment.

Leila hiccoughed and let go of James, then walked forwards, took the parchment and gave it to James, asking him silently if he could read it aloud. James nodded and obliged.

"**To Leila,**

**I don't have much time. I know the death eaters are coming and I've sent Laya **_(the family owl)_ **to Tiberus' house with what the death eaters are looking for.**

**I'm sorry I never warned you about this but I didn't want to worry you.**

**I love you and trust Tiberus and Catherine to look after you if I do not survive this**

**Much Love,**

**Dad**

**P.S…**" James stopped and looked up at his father and cousin. "That's all there is."

Dad took a deep shaky breath, then took one of his brother's lifeless hands and held his free arm out for James and Leila to take.

Then they apparated home.

**A.N- Ok, there it is. **

**Leila in this story is pronounced Lee-Lah**

**Chapter Two- Hot! Is coming up soon**

**I'm already enjoying writing this story! R & R!**

**Stay Tuned**

**Toff.x**


	2. Chapter 2: Hot!

**Disclaimer: I Sirius-ly do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter Two- Hot!**

Sirius Black lounged in a long, uncomfortable black couch. Guests milled around the room.

_Some Christmas party this is._

Narcissa was chatting with her new husband, Lucias Malfoy, Bellatrix was boasting to a group of random second cousins or something. Regulas was skulking; as usual. Sirius sighed, he wished Andy were still here, but no, she had to go off and marry the muggleborn Ted Tonks. Deserting the purebloods forever.

_Lucky bitch._

She'd had her first child already, a little girl who was now 3. But that's about all Sirius knew.

_Oh well. _

Then it all seemed to happen very fast. One moment Sirius was sitting by himself, then his mother appeared with an old lady and two, horrible Slytherin looking girls.

"And this is my son Sirius." There was false pride in his mother's voice, "Sirius dear, stand up and greet our guests."

"I'd rather not." Sirius said casually. The old lady looked disapproving, the girls exchanged giggly glances and stared, infatuated at Sirius.

_Oh. So they're here to try and find me a future wife. Charming._

"Sirius. Stand up." His mother snapped. Sirius sighed and stood up, he was taller than all of them, though his mother was only a few inches below him.

"Good day Mam'selles." He said somewhat sarcastically. The girls smiled flirtatiously and curtseyed.

"I'm Andriella." Said a tall, dark haired one.

"And I'm Cedrella." The other, blonde one said. Sirius half smiled. The old lady inclined her head.

"I'm Crissandria Gamp. Cedrella and Andriella are my Grandaughters. They are looking for marriage after Hogwarts." She said in a posh voice.

"Really? So am I!" Sirius said, pretending to be interested. The girls burst into giggles.

"Might you consider my girls?" the lady asked, Sirius laughed, the girls eyes glittered.

"_Your _girls_!_" Sirius made himself sound highly amused, "Hell no! I need someone who is good looking, not stuck up and actually knows their left from right."

The girls stopped grinning, looked mortally offended and stalked off. The old lady glowered at Sirius' mother before following them. Sirius tried hard not to wince as his mother's eyes glinted angrily.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" she screeched. Sirius shrugged,

"Meh."

"DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT OUR FAMILY REPUTATION?"

Sirius turned to the crowd watching, several people were smirking,

"No." He said simply.

His mother drew her wand but Sirius was too quick. He was sick of this place.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he roared, "Stuff reputation and STUFF YOU! I'm LEAVING!"

Then before anyone could do anything he silently summoned his already packed trunk and ran to the fireplace.

"Potter Manor!" he cried.

He could have sworn he could hear Bellatrix snigger just before he left, but before he could think about it he was gone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Leila was studying her father's will in front of the fire. It was the only thing from the package her father had sent that Uncle Tiberus would let her see.

A couple named Molly and Arthur Weasley were looking to buy the Burrow. They said it would be a good home for their 2 children, Bill and Charlie and other child on the way.

The fireplace flashed emerald green. A large Black trunk fell onto the rug, followed by a boy her age with dark brown, long-ish hair and silver-grey eyes.

_And he is HOT!_

"Um. Hello." Leila said, frowning slightly,

_Smooth._

"Err. Hi." The boy said,

_Well it could have been worse!_

He stared at her, seemingly unable to take in the sight of her. He looked puzzled and slightly entranced.

There was a large clang from the kitchen.

"James!"

"I was trying to help!"

"Since when did _you _help with dinner?"

"Err…"

"Get out of the kitchen!"

James laughed and stepped into the lounge to see Sirius staring over Leila's head at him, Leila had turned to see him come in too.

"Sirius? What the hell are you doing here?" James blurted. Sirius blushed and glanced nervously at Leila before looking down.

"Well… I was at home and I had a fight with my mother and then I came here 'coz… well, I don't have anywhere else to go…"

There was a silence.

Sirius looked down at the floor. Leila felt sorry for him. She studied him more closely.

He had had a slightly arrogant air about him before and had stood confidently, but now his shoulders were hunched and he seemed shy and worried. Leila suspected that he didn't act this way very much.

He had a strong, athletic build and good-looking face. He had tanned skin and silver-grey eyes with longish dark brown hair that fell in all the right places.

James looked blank for a moment before grinning.

"Well of course you can stay with us!" he said as if it would have been obvious.

Sirius brightened up a considerable amount. He immediately looked confident again and the slightly arrogant air rose a bit. He grinned, showing straight white teeth and lighting up his face with gratitude, charm and mischief.

_He is SO hot! _Leila thought again as Sirius and James grinned at each other. Leila twisted right around and sat up so she was facing James.

"So James, are you going to introduce me?" she asked brightly, James seemed to just realise she was there and blinked, looking blank before grinning again.

"Oh yeah. Right. Um, Leila this is my best friend Sirius Black, Sirius, this is my cousin Leila Potter." He said.

Leila stood up cheerfully and extended a hand. Her pale skin looked white against his and her fingers seemed tiny and thin compared to his. He studied her carefully and gave her a charming smile but she very carefully did not let herself melt. On the outside.

_Was it my imagination or did he hold on a little bit longer than he needed to?_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sirius gave Leila a charming smile and watched her as she smiled back and let go of his hand.

_Did she just hold on longer than she needed to?_

He dismissed the thought, still studying her carefully.

_And she is HOT!_

She was slender and very pretty with long, straight black hair tied back in a loose ponytail with strands framing her pale face. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, almost electric. There didn't seem to be a word to describe her, she was unique. Leila like.

_Wait a minute..._

He turned to James,

"Leila. You mean as in 'Leila like'?" he said with raised eyebrows, James smiled.

"Thought you'd figure it out soon!"

"Excuse me, um, 'Leila like'?" Leila asked,

"James uses the phrase 'Leila like' a lot at school, a few friends and I were under the impression it meant unique." Sirius explained, lying very slightly at the end part.

"Really? I thought you thought it meant strange." Said James. Leila threw a cushion at him, "Hey? Leave me alone! It was him!" James cried, shielding his face and pointing at Sirius who looked highly offended and stuck out his chest importantly.

"James, I am ashamed of you, Peter and I would never think such things!" he said pompously, then he sank down into his usual composure and added, "And even if we did then Moony would get us back into line..."

James laughed, Leila raised an eyebrow.

"Moony?" she asked. James and Sirius exchanged glances and started to explain about the marauders carefully editing out Remus' 'furry little problem' and taking seats either side of Leila. This only lasted about 5 minutes however as Catherine Potter interrupted them.

"Is that the voice of Sirius Black I hear?" she asked, poking her head round the doorway. Sirius turned and grinned.

"Yes Mrs Potter. James said I could stay." He said politely, Mrs Potter rounded on James.

"Um... Sirius was um... kicked out by his mother."

Mrs Potter immediately looked sympathetic,

"Oh dear. Well in that case you're quite welcome to stay. I'm going to need more food!" she said cheerfully and left.

"So how come you're here?" Sirius asked Leila, bracing himself for an answer such as 'James is my cousin! Duh!' Instead Leila bowed her head and her eyes grew suspiciously bright.

"Um... my father died a few days ago... death eaters..." she trailed off. James put an arm round her. Sirius felt a mad urge to do the same but instead settled for looking sympathetic and vaguely shocked.

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

"It's Ok, you didn't know..."

"I'm still sorry."

Leila smiled at him and wiped her eyes,

"Well you should be." She said in a sarcastically indignant voice, James grinned,

"Well I am." Sirius said in an equally indignant voice.

"Good."

"Good." They grinned at each other. "So where did you go to school?"

"Fascini Academy of Magic. It's in Italy, my mother was Italian but she died just after I was born. My father and I stayed in Italy until just after September when dad said we were moving here and arranged for me to start Hogwarts. I just went along with it then but now I wonder… he said the death eaters were looking for something he had in his letter to me before he died but Uncle Tiberus won't let me see anything but his will."

Sirius watched Leila carefully as she explained all this. He used animagi senses to try and detect her mood. But it was mostly masked by calmness; she had a lot of self-control. He listened carefully to her soft, comforting voice and watched her beautiful eyes as they flickered around at James and Sirius and her own lap.

_How is it possible to be that hot? Why are there no girls like this at Hogwarts?_

"Oh… um. So are you in the same year as me and James?" Sirius asked, Leila nodded, "Cool!"

Mrs Potter arrived at the door again to announce that dinner was ready. Sirius sat next to Leila. It was bliss.

**A.N- The characters in this story are all in 7****th**** year!**

**I moved Sirius running away to 7****th**** year 'coz it suits the plot better!**

**Also, just to get this clear; Lily hates James.**

**For now.**

**Next chapter- New Friends! It should be coming sooner than this one was.**

**Please Review!**

**Stay Tuned.**

**Toff.x**


	3. Chapter 3: New Friends

**Disclaimer: I Sirius-ly do not own Harry Potter!**

**Chapter Three- New friends!**

James, Sirius and Leila were dropped off at King's Cross Station by muggle car. Leila was got along really well with Sirius. She could have become a honorary Marauder member really but there happened to be one secret that she didn't know about, and it just happened to be their biggest secret and part of what held them together.

They passed through the enchanted barrier; Leila was slightly worried but cheered up quickly as they saw the large scarlet steam train. Then they said goodbye to James' parents.

"See you later Mum!" James said allowing Aunt Catherine to kiss him on the cheek, "Bye Dad!" He hugged his dad and hung back to wait for Sirius and Leila.

"Bye Aunt Catherine. Bye Uncle Tiberus thanks so much for helping me!" Leila said, hugging Aunt Catherine then Uncle Tiberus.

"It was my pleasure sweetheart!" said Aunt Catherine,

"See you in the Christmas holidays" said Uncle Tiberus. Leila smiled and waited with James.

Sirius looked awkward for a second until Aunt Catherine pulled him into a hug.

"You're always welcome at the Potter's Sirius," she said quietly, Sirius smiled,

"Thanks Mrs Potter." He said before shaking Uncle Tiberus' hand. Uncle Tiberus told them all that he'd make sure their trunks were on board before they left to get seats on the train. They could see a tired, slightly grey-faced boy their age just about to get on the train up ahead.

"Moony!" Sirius called, the boy turned and grinned when he saw James and Sirius.

"Hi Padfoot, Hey Prongs!" he said. Leila watched him as they walked over to talk to him.

He looked sick and older from a distance but up close he seemed like a regular guy except a little shabby and scarred. His light brown hair was tousled, his skin was a bit pale and his blue eyes were tired but he still seemed to look incredibly friendly.

"Good Holidays?" Sirius asked,

"Ok I guess." The boy replied. Leila cleared her throat. James, Sirius and Remus turned to look at her. James looked a bit guilty.

"Oh right err, Moony, this is my cousin Leila. She's staying with us 'coz her parents… passed away. She's gonna be starting Hogwarts. Leila, this is Remus Lupin, or Moony." James explained, Leila ignored the part about her parents and tried not to think about it.

_I will not cry in public! _She ordered herself, shaking Remus' hand.

"Seen Peter?" Sirius asked Remus who shook his head,

"Seen Lily?" James asked. Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes, "Well have you?" James demanded.

"Yes, but don't go and talk to her, she'll only yell at you." Remus said seriously, James looked around the station.

"Worth a shot." He said with a shrug as he caught sight of the red headed girl, "See you later!"

"He's such a tactless idiot!" Leila said sadly, shaking her head. Remus laughed,

"So he told you about Lily?" he asked. Now it was Sirius and Leila's turn to laugh.

"Told me? He doesn't shut up about her!" Leila said, Remus laughed again and they headed towards the train, meeting Peter on the way.

"I didn't know James had a cousin," Peter said as they sat down in a compartment. Sirius shrugged,

"Meh." He said. Leila looked out of the window to see a redheaded girl turning away from James. James sighed and was just about to get onto the train when a greasy haired boy blocked him.

"Hang on, I'll see you in a bit," Leila said, standing and leaving. Sirius watched her go.

"Hey James. Sirius is waiting for you." Leila said, interrupting what could have resulted in a fight.

"Who are you?" the greasy haired guy spat.

"Leila Potter. Who are you?" Leila asked coolly.

"Its just Snivellous." James said dismissively, "You sitting with us Leil?"

"Maybe, I might be able to find some girls to sit with." Leila said as 'Snivellous' walked away.

"Kay, I wouldn't see you anyway, I've got to go to the heads compartment in 15 minutes." James replied, giving his cousin a hug. A group of passing girls scowled at them as Leila hugged back.

The redheaded girl who must be Lily Evans approached Leila once James was back on the train.

"Excuse me. I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new?" she asked.

"Oh. Um, yes. I'm Leila." Leila said politely shaking the girl's hand.

"That's a nice name. I'm Lily, Lily Evans. Are you dating James Potter by any chance?" Lily asked, sounding slightly anxious.

"What?" Leila said, startled, "Hell no! He's my cousin!"

"Oh. Ok then. I just saw you hugging him…" Lily seemed relieved, Leila grinned.

"Why? Do you fancy him?" she asked innocently, deciding she'd do James a favour (even if he didn't deserve it!).

"What? No! No. No! I hate James! He's a bullying, arrogant toe-rag!" she said immediately, though Leila could see she'd been thrown off slightly by Leila's straightforwardness.

"Well he's always been a cool cousin but if you say so…"

Lily immediately felt guilty and tried to cover up but Leila just laughed and told her not to worry about it.

"So how come you're only just starting Hogwarts?" Lily asked as they found a compartment and sat down.

Leila took a deep breath and explained all about living in Italy and her father dying without any emotion in her voice, trying not to think about what she was saying. When she finished, Lily looked sympathetic.

"Oh Li-ly!" a voice from the door sang. Lily turned to grin at two girls who had come to join them.

"Hey Jess, hi Rose!" Lily said cheerfully. The girls entered the compartment and pushed their trunks up onto the racks before sitting down.

One of them sat next to Leila, she had strawberry blonde hair, freckles and sparkly blue eyes, not electric blue like Leila's but cheerful all the same. The other girl sat next to Lily, she had warm brown eyes, tanned skin and chocolate brown hair that fell beneath her shoulders in soft curls.

"Who's this?" asked the one next to Leila.

"This is Leila." Lily said cheerfully.

"Hi." Leila said.

"Leila this is Jess," Lily indicated to the girl with the strawberry blonde hair, "And Rose." The girl with chocolate brown hair. "Leila is Potter's cousin," Lily said to Jess and Rose, "Her mother was Italian but died just after Leila was born and so Leila lived in Italy for a while until her father announced they were moving to England. But her father was killed by death eaters a few weeks ago so now she lives with Potter."

The girls all looked sympathetic. The train suddenly lurched and began to move.

"Hey Lils, don't you have to go to the head compartment to get your head girl briefing?" Jess asked. Lily looked down at her watch.

"Shoot! You're right! I better go! Nice meeting you Leila!" then Lily was gone.

"I wonder who head boy is." Rose said absently.

"Maybe Remus…" said Jess,

"It's not." Leila said, a grin appearing on her face. Rose and Jess turned to look at her.

"Who is it?" Rose asked. Leila grinned wider.

"James."

The girls gasped, then Jess fell about laughing, Rose started to giggle too, and then Leila joined in.

"Oooh, Lily is gonna be mad!" Jess laughed.

"Look on the bright side!" Leila said, "James won't be nearly so unhappy!"

**A.N- Woo! Yea! Haha, **

**Hope you liked it!**

**Next chapter: Lost Cause!**

**Please, please, PLEASE review,**

**Stay Tuned**

**Toff.x**


	4. Chapter 4: Lost Cause

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Four- Lost Cause.**

Lily ran down the train muttering swear words under her breath. She was late for her first ever head girl duty. She should be briefing the 5th and 6th year prefects already but then again, the head boy would be doing that. She was only a few minutes late, the head boy would manage. She wondered who the head boy was.

_Maybe Remus, he was a prefect with me. _

Lily thought of Leila. She was very pretty, yet not in the way people like Rose were, she was so… _unique_. She also looked a bit like her cousin, they had the same pale skin, and black hair. She was very nice too, shy yet not. If that made sense.

_No Lily. It didn't. And now you're talking to yourself. Great. Wonderful. Terrific._

She reached the heads compartment and, panting slightly she pushed the door open to see…

"James?"

James Potter stood with his back to the window, facing Lily's direction, talking to the new prefects.

"Hey you called me James!" he said happily as the 5th and 6th years turned to see Lily enter.

"Oh wow. What are you doing here?" she asked irritably,

"He's head boy." Said a 5th year Lily knew called Hazel Matlock. Lily turned to see Hazel grinning evilly at Lily. Lily turned back to James, refusing to look Hazel in the eye.

"Oh… Ok then. Err… so, um, sorry I'm late. What did I, err, miss?" she said awkwardly.

"Well I was just telling everyone that I'm James and your Lily but not usually late. Then I said that I probably won't be too good at this 'coz I was too much of an immature idiot to be a prefect." Lily had to conceal a smile, she noticed that some of the 5th and 6th years were smiling themselves, "So then I started to brief them on what I remembered from Moony… then you arrived."

"So what have you all covered?" Lily asked the younger prefects, moving across the compartment to where James was facing them all. There wasn't much space for 2 people to stand side by side and Hazel smirked as Lily and James' shoulders rubbed together and Lily blushed.

"We got given the house passwords but only our houses. And we got told about showing the first years to the common rooms after the feast!" piped up the really small 5th year Hufflepuff prefect.

"And we got told about our rounds of the train." Said a 6th year Ravenclaw prefect.

"And James gave us a piece of parchment with instructions." Hazel added, holding up her parchment.

Lily had to admit, she was impressed.

"Oh. Um. Ok, that's cool. Err… have you covered the prefect bathrooms?" she asked, the prefects shook their heads.

"Let's get on with that then."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

James pulled out his wand and tidied the compartment. Lily watched him with a strange look in her eye. James flashed her the trademark Potter grin that would usually make any girl's heart melt and Lily glared back.

James turned to look out the window. The scenery was breathtaking. Fresh blue sky and rolling green hills were all that could be seen with the exception of a few fences and farm animals.

He took it all in, knowing that it would be one of the last chances he would have to do so. There was a war going on and once he left school he knew that he would most likely be thrust head first into it, whether he liked it or not.

Leila was already involved. James felt a stab of pain as he remembered Uncle Andrew's body lying there on the floor of the Burrow's living room. Uncle Andrew who bought James Italian sweets and gelato whenever he visited. Uncle Andrew who bought James his first toy broomstick. Uncle Andrew who teased James about never getting a girlfriend (even though James didn't want anyone but Lily). Uncle Andrew who took Leila and James on picnics in the Italian countryside.

"Potter? Are you there?"

James jumped to see Lily beside him looking impatient.

"We can go now Potter." She said. James took one last look at the countryside before turning away. Lily was about to leave but James called after her.

"Lily!" Lily turned around, not looking quite so annoyed with him as usual,

"Yes Potter." She said in an amused voice.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked, flashing her another Potter grin. Lily glared, all traces of amusement gone.

"No Potter."

Then she was gone. James shrugged.

Worth a shot.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So what house are you going to be in?" Rose asked.

"Well since I've only got one year here, Dumbledore said I could stay in Gryffindor. You know, 'coz that's where James is and… well there hasn't yet been a Potter who wasn't in Gryffindor… I'd feel weird in any other house." Leila replied. Rose nodded as Lily came into the compartment looking annoyed.

"Hi Lily." Jess said cheerfully.

"Who was head boy?" Leila asked a little too innocently. Lily turned to face her.

"You." She said, pointing an accusing finger at Leila.

"Well actually my name is Leila but 'You' works fine too." Leila said casually, picking up a liquorice wand and taking a bite out of it. Jess and Rose laughed and Lily's lips twitched.

"You knew that Potter was head boy!" Lily said, taking a different approach and deciding to look sad with puppy dog eyes and all.

"Oh that." Leila said dismissively. Lily sighed.

"You're worse than Black." She said before collapsing into her seat.

"I'm either vaguely flattered or highly insulted." Leila replied. Jess laughed and Rose smiled.

"So you've met Black?" she said.

"He lives with us." Leila replied matter-of-factly.

"What?" said Jess, sounding highly surprised.

"His Mum kicked him out so he moved in with his closest friend; which happens to be James." Leila explained. Jess' eyebrows went up. Rose looked sympathetic, and Lily's expression was unreadable. There was a small silence.

"I pity her. She has to live with Potter _and _Black." Lily said to Jess.

"They're not _that _bad." Leila said, Lily blinked once before collapsing into laughter.

"Right!" she said sarcastically,

Rose shook her head at Lily. Jess turned to Leila.

"Sorry, but you're fighting a lost cause!"

**A.N- Ahhh… I've had that chapter bugging me for a while… it's good to get it all typed up!**

**Anyway! Hope you liked it! R&R! Chapter Five- The Marauders' lighter side! Is coming soon!**

**Stay Tuned**

**Toff.x**


	5. Chapter 5: The Marauder's Lighter Side!

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Five- The Marauders' lighter side!**

"Attention students! The train will be arriving at Hogsmeade in approximately 10 minutes."

"Crap! We should change!" Lily said, standing up to grab her trunk. Lily, Rose and Jess did the same. Jess hit her head on Merlin knows what and yelped in pain.

"Why do I have to be so goddamn blonde?" she cried. Rose smiled warmly and Lily laughed. Leila frowned. Her trunk wasn't in here… then she remembered.

"Hey guys, my trunk is in with James and his friends, I should go and get it," she said. The girls nodded and Leila left the compartment.

A few seconds later she walked in on the marauders who were already dressed in their Hogwarts robes and laughing about something or other.

"Hey Leil, we were wondering when you'd turn up." James said with a cocky grin.

"Oh shut up. Lily's really nice by the way. So are her friends." Leila said, after rolling her eyes at her cousin.

"You sat with Lily?" James asked eagerly.

"Yes genius, that's what she just said!" Sirius said, Leila grinned at him.

"Who else did you sit with?" Remus asked.

"Err… Rose Phillips and Jess Parker." Leila replied.

"Ok, that's all of the 7th year Gryffindor girls." Remus said. Leila nodded. She'd found out a bit about the girls that she knew would be her roommates.

Lily was muggle-born and was good at everything except quidditch and divination. She was like the 'leader' of the group and helped everyone when they were sad or lonely. She seemed cheerful enough but Leila knew from James that her temper was lethal.

Rose was quiet, smart and bookish. Her mum was a muggle and her dad was a wizard. She often had strong opinions about things but didn't voice them too much. Although Lily was extremely smart, Rose was probably smarter and was a pretty good flyer, playing as a chaser on the Gryffindor team.

Jess was very blonde. She wasn't too good at anything except charms but enjoyed the company of her friends. Her parents had split up when she was young so she never knew her dad. She lived with her mum (who was a muggle), her mum's boyfriend and 5 half brothers that didn't like her very much. She could be bubbly and happy but mostly stayed shy and quiet even if she had a good idea. She was more open with her friends and although she was still shy, she didn't hold her ideas in very often while around them.

Leila grabbed her trunk and said goodbye to the boys before leaving to go back down to the girls' compartment.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Leila and the girls climbed into a particularly large carriage. Huddling together with unease as the dementor's chill swirled around in the evening air.

"Hey guys! In here!" a cry came from just outside the carriage.

"Oh no!" Lily groaned.

"What?" Rose asked from her spot staring out of the side of the carriage.

The answer became clear as a certain black haired boy with glasses leapt into the carriage.

"Good evening ladies!" he said with a little bow. At least 2 of the girls rolled their eyes.

"And how are you this evening my darling Lily-flower?" James asked, finding a seat opposite Leila and beside Lily and putting an arm round her as Sirius and Remus entered, followed by Peter.

"Piss off James." Lily sighed, James looked highly offended and withdrew his arm, stalking across the room and plopping down next to Leila.

"So how are you darling cousin of mine?"

"Very well thank you dearest cousin of mine." Leila replied with the classic Potter grin. Lily watched with odd an expression from opposite them.

Sirius sat on the other side of Leila and Remus sat in between James and Rose who smiled at him. He smiled back. Peter squeezed in between Lily and Jess and the carriage began to move.

Silence.

Sirius decided to yawn loudly as a joke and put an arm round Leila who rolled her eyes.

"So old, Sirius." She sighed.

"You do better then!" Sirius said indignantly, pouting and removing his arm.

"Well you know, James, Uncle Tiberus and I went fishing the other day…" Leila said.

"Oh?" Sirius said, playing along.

"Yea. James caught a fish this big," she held her two hands 6 inches apart, "Uncle Tiberus caught a fish this big," she held her hands 1 and a half feet away, "And I caught a fish," she put one arm around Sirius and bought her other hand round so she was hugging Sirius with her fingers an inch apart, leaning in, she said quietly into his ear, "This big."

Sirius went very slightly pink and looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Hmm… that's a good one."

Leila and James laughed and Leila removed her arms. Lily was staring at the three.

"What? It's like I said, they're not that bad!" Leila said. Lily shook her head and everyone started up their own conversations. Lily however was watching Leila chat with the Marauders carefully as she half-listened to Jess chat to Peter.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily watched with everyone else as Leila showed Sirius her 'move'. She studied everyone's reactions. James seemed to have seen this before. Jess, Remus and Peter watched amusedly and Rose wasn't paying attention, which was odd, she usually liked to watch whatever was going on and observed with a kind of peaceful amusement.

It was a mystery how… well, normal James and Sirius were being. Whenever Lily saw them they were showing off and being right idiots but now they were just hanging out and having a laugh. Leila seemed to have revealed a new side of the Marauders to Lily. And Lily sort of liked it…

Later on Remus asked Rose a question and Rose jumped almost a foot into the air.

"Are you feeling Ok Rose?" Lily asked, Rose blushed a brilliant crimson and nodded.

"Um… yes I'm fine… what were you saying Remus?"

Remus looked concerned, Lily frowned but let it go.

This was going to be an interesting year…

**A.N- Ahhh, it felt good to write some of this… I've been wanting to write a bit of it for a while now…**

**Anywho! R&R! The plot should become a bit more interesting soon, branching off in different directions…**

**By the way, you absoloutly HAVE to read my friend's story!! It's 'The Snake Within', by Anablack1 Please read and review!!**

**Next Chapter: A wilting Rose!**

**Stay Tuned**

**Toff.x**


	6. Chapter 6: A Wilting Rose

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Six- A wilting Rose**

Leila sat with the girls again at the feast, leaving the Marauders on their own. Lily kept giving her odd looks but as Jess had said; it was a lost cause!

For Lily the feast passed quickly and she didn't notice much about what was going on as she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. An argument she'd had with Petunia was bugging her.

20-year-old Petunia was convinced that her pig of a boyfriend, Vernon Dursley was going to propose but Lily had muttered that no one in their right minds would marry Petunia. Petunia had overheard and snapped that Lily wouldn't be invited to the wedding anyway. Lily was hurt at that, but Petunia had stormed out of the room. Lily was still quite upset; she and Petunia had always said when they were little that they would be the maids of honour at each other's weddings.

But right now, Lily had to get some sleep and try to figure out why Rose was so quiet.

The evening passed quickly, Leila hardly seemed to notice the wonders of the castle as she passed through it to the common room and once the girls reached their dorms, they fell asleep almost instantly.

Well most of them did.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rose stayed awake, unable to sleep.

The loss of her mum was lingering in the air around her but she was the only one who could feel it. Hell, she was the only person who knew about it.

Her mum was dead, her dad could be fatally sick and was currently unable to do anything except eat and sleep.

She desperately wanted to tell someone about it, Lily, or Remus. But no, no one would understand. Leila had lost parents, but Rose didn't know Leila well.

Best to just keep going as she was…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Leila woke at the same time as everyone else and started to get dressed. Jess was fairly cheerful; Lily was refreshed and bouncy being very much a morning person like Leila herself. Rose on the other hand looked terrible. She had black rings under her eyes which were bloodshot, you could hardly see her hazel pupils as she seemed to be trying to keep her eyes open… and failing.

"Is she normally like this in the morning?" Leila asked Lily. Lily shook her head, biting her lip. Rose was brushing her hair but instead of brushing down, she brushed up making her hair go knotty and frizzed.

"Rose are you Ok?" Jess asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yea, I'm fine Josh," Rose replied.

"_Josh?_" Jess repeated.

"What?" Rose turned around with her hairbrush still entangled in her hair. Her eyes were suddenly wide. Lily waved her wand and Rose's hair untangled itself and put itself up into a ponytail.

"You just called Jess, Josh." Leila said. Jess blushed.

"Did I? Oh, sorry Jess. I'm fine." Rose turned to her bed and reached down for her book bag.

"Who's Josh?" Leila asked.

"Oh, um… no one. I'm hungry, let's go to breakfast." With that Rose left the room with her book bag over one shoulder and her tie still on the bed.

Jess picked up the tie followed her.

"Josh is Rose's older brother." Lily told Leila, biting her lip, " he was in 7th year when we were in 1st. Rose never talks about him."

"But why would she call Jess, Josh. Has she seen him lately?" Leila asked.

"I don't know but we need to find out." Lily said.

The Marauders were in the common room, waiting for the two.

"Urgh! Go away Potter." Lily sighed.

"I'm here to speak to my darling cousin though." James said indignantly.

"Huh? Oh, hey cuz." Leila looked around, she'd been looking across the room where Rose was just leaving with Jess. Lily glared at Leila, "What?" Leila asked her.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"So do you guys know why Rose is all weird today?" James asked.

"I dunno. But she called Jess 'Josh' before." Lily sighed.

"Who's Josh?" Peter asked.

"Her brother." Leila replied.

"Rose has a brother?" Sirius asked, startled.

"Apparently so." Leila said with a small smile.

"Wait, what's her brother's name again?" Remus asked.

"Josh. But anyway, we've really got to go," Lily turned to leave.

"No we don't Lily." Leila said,

"_Yes, _we do!" Lily demanded, pushing Leila along. Leila waved over her shoulder at the marauders, laughing. Then Lily scowled at James and Sirius before leaving.

James and Sirius watched them leave with weird smiles.

"Moony? You Ok?" Peter asked Remus whose expression was glazed.

"Josh. Josh Phillips. I know him. He was in 7th year in our first. Although he didn't get called Josh _Phillips,_" Remus said.

"How'd you know that?" James asked, turning around.

"And how do you know him?" Sirius added, also turning around.

"He- he came to the shack with me on moon nights, starting about one week into 3rd term" Remus said lowly,

"B-but that means…" Peter stammered.

"I know." Remus nodded, "He's a werewolf."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The girls happily accepted their timetables, Leila decided to take arithmancy and ancient runes based on her OWL results at Fascini Academy in Italy.

Their first lesson was DADA with the Slytherins. Luckily the new professor, Professor Gerig, was really nice and what James and Sirius called 'Anti-Slytherin'. She had short, frizzy dark brown hair and wire-rimmed spectacles.

When she made sure everyone was there by calling register, she stopped at Remus' name and said.

"Mr Lupin, I've heard about you."

Most of the class thought she was talking about Remus' good marks but the Marauders knew better. Remus was grateful that Gerig was so friendly to him; some of the other Professors were rude or nervous around him.

Next was Charms and Leila instantly became Flitwick's favourite. At break, Leila got into a fight with Snape.

"Hey mudblood!" Snape called across the courtyard. Lily went as red as her hair. Leila's electric blue eyes went cold. She spun round, wand drawn and her hex hit Snape in his chest.

Immediately, Snape went grey, he doubled over and fell to his knees. Luckily none of the Slytherins were around so Leila didn't get hexed back, but Lily and Jess were stunned.

"What did you do to him?" Jess asked in awe. Then Snape retched and a large grey slug came out of his mouth.

"Urgh! Gross!" Lily cried jumping back and knocking into Rose.

"Ah! What? Are we late for transfiguration?" Rose asked,

"No Rose. Leila just hexed Snape." Jess said gently.

"Oh. I'll come." Rose replied. Lily, Leila and Jess stared at her but she just sat down on a nearby bench and stared into the distance.

Just then the Marauders arrived, coming up behind Snape.

"You're in our way Snivellous." Sirius sneered,

"He can't really move." Leila told him.

"You're sticking up for him?" James cried incredulously.

"No." Leila said. Snape threw up another slug.

"Yuck!" Peter and Remus cried.

"You did this?" Sirius asked, stepping around Snape.

"He called Lily a mudblood!" Leila said indignantly.

"What?" James glared at Snape.

"So Leila hexed him." Jess added.

"Wicked!" Sirius high-fived Leila, grinning. The bell rang.

"We should do the counter curse before lessons." Lily said.

"There isn't a counter-curse." Leila said simply, gathering her books.

"What?"

"Don't worry, it'll wear off."

Lily picked her books up and Jess jerked Rose back to life.

"What? Oh, no thanks I'm not hungry." Rose said. Everyone frowned at her. Lily turned to Leila and Remus.

"We've really got to do something about her."

**A.N- Phew! There we go. Poor Rose.**

**HAHA! The plot thickens sort of.**

**Sorry for the longer than usual update!**

**The next chapter will be… Secret Passages**

**Stay Tuned!**

**Toff.x**


	7. Chapter 7: Secret Passages

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Seven- Secret passages!**

Transfiguration passed quickly and Leila declared Lily the queen of the subject, regarding her own half-transformed hedgehog with disgust.

The next lesson was a study period for Jess but Leila and Lily had arithmancy. Jess said goodbye to them and left to go to the library. On her way she ran into Peter.

"Hey Pete." She said shyly.

"Oh, hey Jess, err… free lesson?" he asked, fidgeting nervously.

"Yea, what about you."

"Yea. The others have arithmancy, I was never very good at it." Peter looked down.

"Me neither, do you wanna come to the library with me?" Jess asked

"Sure. I gotta do some charms homework. I suck at charms. Why can't it be simpler, like… like muggle studies?"

"You don't suck at charms, I saw you in lessons, you did that cheering charm really well! Remus couldn't stop grinning!" Jess said reassuringly.

"Yea but we learnt that charm in third year, I was supposed to do it without speaking and I couldn't do it." Peter sighed.

"Charms is my best subject! I'll help you out!"

"Really?"

"Sure, we've got every free lesson if you're a slow learner."

"I am," Peter assured her. "The only thing I'm good at is muggle studies,"

"Nah, you were awesome in care of magical creatures! And you're Ok in potions with Remus' help. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to do muggle studies if I took it; Well, I guess I'd be pretty good since I'm a muggleborn but that's completely beside the point!" Jess threw her hands up in the air and knocked one hand on a suit of armour, "Ouch! Who put that there?"

"They move." Peter told her with a chuckle.

"Really? Huh." Jess rubbed her sore hand. Footsteps echoed behind them. Peter sniffed the air.

"Professor Smith! In here!" Peter cried, pushing open a random part of the wall. Jess toppled into the tiny room, Peter followed and flattened against the wall, he shut the wall behind them and muttered 'Lily'. A window appeared in the closed door letting in light and a clear view of the hallway.

Jess' breath quickened, this room was really narrow, built for 2 people maximum, she was really close to Peter.

A tall wizard with grey hair and cold black eyes walked past, he didn't even look at the window in the wall.

"How did you do that?" Jess asked,

"What? The window? It's only visible from the inside." Peter told her.

"No I mean how did you know it was Smith?" Jess asked. Professor Smith was the astronomy teacher and loved to punish Gryffindors for no reason. He would probably have given them both detention for talking loudly.

"Oh err, marauders secret." Peter said, blushing.

"When did you find this room?"

"Sirius found it in second year. He was running away from his cousin Bellatrix and she pushed him into the wall."

"What was the password again?"

"Oh, err…" Peter blushed, "Lily."

"Lily?" Jess repeated with raised eyebrows.

"Yea well we get to make the passwords and it was James' turn!"

Jess laughed. Peter grinned,

"Is there one named after Rose?" she asked,

"Yea, it's on a passage that goes to honeydukes. Remus always did like that passage." Peter grinned wider as Jess laughed again, "We should get to the library."

"Yea."

They climbed out of the passage and walked down the corridor in silence for a little while.

"There's one named after you too." Peter said casually. Jess blushed.

"Oh?"

"Yea, near the muggle studies classroom."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At lunch, Jess and Peter joined the Marauders, Lily, Leila and Rose at the Gryffindor table.

"Oooh, what have you two been doing?" Sirius teased. Jess and Peter both blushed.

"Charms homework."

"Sure, sure," James and Leila said at the same time.

"That was freaky." Lily said.

"Is it end of term yet?" Rose asked.

"Err… no Rose. It's the first day." Jess said gently, sitting down.

"Rose can you please tell us what's wrong?" Leila asked.

"No, no, I'm fine really Josh, I mean, Lily, I mean… oh no!" to everyone's horror she started to cry and put her head in her hands.

"Rose, Rose, what's wrong?" Remus asked.

"Nothing, I… I just. I have to go!" Rose got up and ran off. Lily sighed,

"Good job we have double free period!" she said before running after her.

"Meet you in the common room!" Leila called after them.

"I've got muggle studies." Peter said,

"I have divination." Said Jess,

"I've got ancient runes." Leila said,

"Same here." James and Sirius said in unision.

"And me," Remus added.

"Then it's free period for the rest of the day right?" Sirius asked.

"Yup. Unless you've got care of magical creatures like me and Remus." Peter said.

"So that's me, you, Sirius and Jess cuz!" James said, leaning one elbow on Leila's shoulder.

"No. Because we have to see what's up with Rose first." Leila sighed, "Wait, what's Lily doing back?"

"I can't find her, she disappeared," Lily sighed. "I'll talk to her later, she'll probably go to the dorm for some rest."

"By the way Lily, there's meant to be a prefect meeting tomorrow lunch, we need to organise that." James said. Lily looked surprised.

"Oh yea, thanks Potter, I'll get on to it."

"A prefects meeting? About what?" Remus asked, still concerned about Rose.

Lily tapped her nose.

"What was that?" Sirius asked,

"Sirius, did you pay _any_ attention in muggle studies?" Peter asked.

"No, I just took it to annoy my parents didn't I?" Sirius said as though this was obvious.

"Nice Sirius." Leila said, shaking her head. "Nice."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Everyone headed to their next classes. Leila laughed along with Remus, James and Sirius and Lily watched them as they left the great hall.

"You fancy James!" a voice sing-songed. Lily turned around to see a girl younger than her with short, spiky black hair, pale skin and hazel eyes that glinted with a hint of yellow.

"I do not! Leave me alone Hazel!" Lily snapped.

"You do though." Hazel said innocently, "You're friends with that Leila girl now, you're not going to get rid of him, plus he's head boy. Not so immature now, huh?"

"Shut up!" Lily snapped.

"You'll thank me one day!" Hazel teased and her eyes glittered stronger yellow, making them look golden.

"Yea. Right. Whatever." Lily stalked away, leaving Hazel smirking.

But later when Lily was organising the prefects meeting, she couldn't shake off Hazel's words.

What had she always hated about James, hexing Snape? She hated Snape now. Being immature? He wasn't so immature now, he was a great head boy. And she couldn't really call him arrogant, sure he had an arrogant quality but it had lessened lots and when he was just hanging out with Leila, he was so… nice, and caring and sexy and funny.

_Whoa! Hold up! Did I just call James Potter sexy?_

_Well… he is hot…_

The words of one of Lily's friends who had been a year above her; Alice, rung in her ears.

"_He'll mature one day Lils. He really likes you and he's not the kind of guy who gives up. One day, you'll admit that you like him!"_

Alice had told Lily that in her last week at school but Lily had just glared and said 'I will never like James Potter!" But now Lily wasn't so sure.

Leila had shown her that James was really not a bad person, Rose and Jess told Leila it was a lost cause. But right now, Lily wasn't so sure.

**A.N- Awww, I love Lily/James, it's so sweet!**

**By the way, Professor Smith is Zacharias Smith's grandfather! Just in case you wanted to know!**

**Anywho, I g2g but stay tuned for Chapter Eight- Rose's story**

**Not much else to say really**

**Read and Review**

**Toff.x**


	8. Chapter 8: Rose's Story

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Eight- Rose's story**

Rose sat on her bed; salty tears reached the corners of her mouth. It was the time for last lesson of the day. There was a soft knock on the door; Rose guessed it was probably Lily.

"Leave me alone," she managed to choke out. The door opened and Rose was surprised to see Leila.

"What?" Rose found herself asking, sounding harsher than she'd meant to.

"You lost someone." Leila said, sitting on Rose's bed beside Rose.

"How- what- why would you-" Rose sighed. Leila knew she was right. "My mother."

Leila hugged her.

"What was she like?" she asked softly.

"She was great. She was a muggle but she was always fond of magic." Rose gave a tearful laugh, still hugging Leila, "she would cook and clean the muggle way and dad would do little tricks with magic for her and she'd laugh and think it was really fascinating." Rose sighed, another tear rolled down her cheek, "She was always there for me. She gave advice and she helped me out and always knew what was wrong. She loved my dad; she'd do anything for him. But then when Josh… w-when Josh…" Rose faltered.

"What happened to Josh?" Leila asked softly.

"I-I can't tell you." Rose said, her voice squeaky.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Leila reassured her. Rose took a deep breath.

"In my first year, Josh's seventh year. In the Easter holidays, Josh went outside to get some firewood and… well, it was a full moon…" Rose faltered again. Leila nodded calmly.

"He was bitten." She said. Rose nodded.

"My dad was terrified of his own son. Mum didn't care though. I didn't care either, Josh was my brother, my big brother, who always stood up for me and looked out for me! It wasn't his fault that the wolf got him!" Rose sniffled. "My dad kicked him out, but Dumbledore saved him, he gave him a place to go to transform. You know the whomping willow? There's a passage from there that leads to the shrieking shack. It's been haunted ever since!"

"But what about your mum?"

"She was angry at dad, but she stayed with him for my sake. I kept writing to my brother and in the holidays that just passed, he asked me if I wanted to come and stay with him for a few months. He said I could stay at the Leaky Cauldron on full moon nights so he wouldn't be anywhere near me. 'Course dad didn't know… but halfway through my stay with Josh we got an owl. My mother was found dead and my father badly injured. They'd been attacked by the same wolf that got Josh… my dad will be a werewolf if he survives. He'll never let me stay with him, he thinks it's too dangerous for me to be anywhere near a werewolf."

Rose let Leila go and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry to dump this all on you…" she sniffled.

"No. It's Ok, the best thing to do is to just tell someone everything, even if they can do absolutely nothing about it. You just gotta get over it, move on, find something better to focus on! It was the same for me when dad died," Leila looked down.

"Who'd you tell?" Rose asked.

"My aunt Catherine. And James… sort of. It's good to tell a guy, you know, get a slightly different perspective." Leila trailed off, "So you think you'll be Ok?"

"Yea… I think I'm gonna go find Remus."

"Are you gonna tell him about all this?"

"No. I think I'll leave it for a while. I'll tell him another time. I think I'll tell Lils though."

"Ok."

"Hey and, thanks a lot Leila."

"That's Ok. We couldn't have you off the planet now could we?" Leila gave Rose the Potter grin and Rose gave Leila her warm smile.

"Seeya later."

"Huh? What? It's in the kitchen!" Leila said, faking looking startled. Rose rolled her eyes. Leila laughed, "Seeya."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Remus collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes, thinking of Rose. He remembered when he'd first met Josh Phillips, Rose's brother. And how he'd told Remus that he didn't use his real surname.

_xXx FLASHBACK xXx_

_Remus headed down to the hospital wing, feeling bad about lying to his friends. Madame Pomphrey was waiting for him with a seventh year boy._

_He had dark brown, longish hair, tanned skin and dark blue eyes. A white scar ran across his face from just underneath his eye, across his nose and ending underneath his ear._

"_Good evening Mr Lupin." Madame Pomphrey said._

"_Err, hello Ma'am." Remus said, shifting his shoulders in the hope that some of the pain would go away, instead his shoulder blades caught fire. He flinched and doubled over._

_The older guy watched Remus sadly._

"_This is Josh Phillips." Madame Pomphrey said, gesturing to the older guy._

"_Actually I get called Josh Price now, since my dad kicked me out…" Josh smiled at Remus, it was a crooked smile due to the scar. Remus tried to smile back but it must have come out as a grimace. Josh winced suddenly and fell to his knees, clutching his face._

"_Are you Ok?" Pomphrey asked, Josh nodded. Pomphrey turned to Remus, "Mr Lupin, Josh was attacked by Greyback in the holidays, this is his first transformation. I trust you can both make your way to the willow. You are half an hour early of course."_

_Remus nodded, a few moments later, Remus was leading Josh across the grounds, both of them shaking slightly._

"_The first time's the worst… apparently." Remus said reassuringly to Josh. _

"_What do you mean by apparently?" Josh asked, his voice hoarse._

"_I don't remember my first, I was too young." Remus replied._

"_How old were you?" Josh asked, amazed._

"_Four." Remus grimaced and reached for a long stick as they approached the willow._

"_Who bit you?"_

"_Greyback." There was a silence as they prodded a knot on the trees trunk and moved towards the passage._

"_So your dad kicked you out?" Remus asked._

"_Yea, he said it's too dangerous for my younger sister." They dumped their bags at the end of the tunnel and climbed into the shack, heading up to the main room._

"_Oh. Does your sister go to Hogwarts?"_

"_Yea, she's great, she's like my mum. She doesn't care about me being a werewolf… but my dad doesn't want either of them in danger so…"_

_Then the moon rose and both boys collapsed_

_xXx FLASHBACK OVER xXx_

Remus had become good friends with Josh but had known him for so long as Josh Price that he forgot that he had a former name.

Since that night, both boys never really spoke to each other about their families, Remus would never had dreamed that Josh's little sister would be Rose.

But why was Rose so upset? Surely something couldn't have happened to Josh, and Rose never talked about Josh, never saw him for all Remus knew. He shrugged it off, she'd come through. He trusted her.

And Rose didn't care that Josh was a werewolf. She didn't care! So would she care about Remus being a werewolf?

Remus smiled to himself, Rose wouldn't care, her brother was a werewolf, so why should it be a problem that her friend was.

He decided that he'd tell her. Not at the moment, she was too out of it right now. But he'd tell her.

One day.

**A.N- And that's another chapter gone! More coming soon!**

**Next chapter: Chapter Nine- Quidditch Trials**

**Read and Review**

**Toff.x**


	9. Chapter 9: Quidditch Trials

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Nine- Quidditch trials**

Rose cheered up considerably in the next few days and everyone was more cheerful. Although Lily didn't seem to notice herself, she had stopped calling James, 'Potter' and now called him James. Everyone else noticed but decided kindly, not to tease her about it.

Leila became Slytherins most wanted within the next two weeks and James and Sirius decided to make her a paper crown. Leila went along with it a now wore the crown to all the lessons they shared with the Slytherins.

On the Wednesday of the third week, James, the Quidditch captain, held trials.

James was seeker, Sirius was the first beater, the other beater graduated last year so they needed a new one. Rose and a sixth year girl called Natalie McCready were the current chasers, Alice used to be the other but she had also graduated last year and Hazel Matlock was the team keeper.

This left James needing a chaser and a beater. Leila was trialling for chaser.

Lily and Leila walked down to the pitch. Rose, Remus, James and Sirius were already there. James was organising the people trialling for beater, Rose and Remus were chatting in the stands and Sirius was flirting with a group of girls that had come to watch.

James finished talking to the beaters just as Lily and Leila arrived. Leila watched as Sirius looked casually over his shoulder, saw Leila and immediately came over, calling over his shoulder at the girls, one of whom was in the middle of telling a joke and was quite put out when Sirius left.

"Hey Sirius." Leila said, flashing him a Potter grin that made him smile.

James arrived.

"Hi Lily, hey cuz. You trialling?" he asked,

"Yup. Chaser." Leila answered, showing him her broomstick (Nimbus 1000).

"Cool, you were always good at family games," James grinned, "Hang on a sec, OI! LEAVE THOSE BLUDGERS IN THE BOX!"

James went running off, Leila rolled her eyes.

"Family games? We were the only players!" she scoffed.

"Then how do you play?" Sirius asked.

"Scoring against each other, first to catch the snitch, hit each other with bludgers, races." Leila reeled off, "Annoying thing was, James won almost everything!"

"Almost?" Lily questioned, smirking.

"Well I could always hit more bludgers at him, and he is a crap keeper!" Leila said, Sirius and Lily laughed.

"Who's a crap keeper?" Remus asked; he had just arrived with Rose.

"James." Lily answered, "By the way, where are Peter and Jess?"

"Oh. They're off doing 'charms homework'" Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"We don't have charms homework." Leila said,

"Exactly! We think they might be hiding something!" Remus said with a sly grin.

"Aw… they suit each other!" Lily giggled.

"OK! CHASERS OVER HERE!" James yelled,

"That's me." Leila said, moving across the pitch.

"Good luck!" Rose called.

"Yea! Go Leil!" Sirius yelled. James turned to glare at them.

"Team over here too!" he shouted. Sirius sighed and Rose giggled before they both left.

Remus and Lily ran up to the stands to watch.

The beater trials ran smoothly enough, the best was probably a boy in fifth year called Mathew Hannan. He was short but strong with excellent aim. He also worked well with Sirius and seemed to be a quick learner.

Then it was time for the chaser trials.

Leila passed the quaffle around with Natalie and Rose without ever dropping the ball and didn't miss a single shot against Hazel. She outflew everyone and dodged every bludger Sirius shot at her. It was obvious who the new chaser was. When James told everyone to take a break while he decided and discussed with the team.

Leila shot over to the stand where Lily and Remus were sitting.

"How'd I do?" She asked breathlessly.

"Meh!" Remus shrugged.

"Remus!" Lily elbowed him, "You were amazing Leil. You'll get in."

"You think so?"

"WE'VE DECIDED!" James bellowed. Lily and Remus grinned. Leila glided down to the team and toppled lightly onto the grass, landing next to Sirius.

"Ok, listen up!" James called, everyone turned to him. "Well to be honest, I think it's pretty obvious who the new team members are." He looked pointedly at Mathew Hannan, then Leila. Both of them beamed. The team beamed back at them.

"Err, yea so Mathew and Leila, welcome to the team. You can leave now." James waved to everyone and Leila grinned happily.

Sirius hugged her and a gaggle of lingering girls stalked off as they saw Leila hug back.

"You flew really well!" Sirius told her. Leila smiled,

"Thanks!" she said before hugging Rose aswell. Lily and Remus arrived.

"Well done Leil! I knew you could do it!" Lily said happily. Leila grinned wider.

She'd made the team!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

September was ending, the quidditch trials were three days ago and Jess had announced on Sunday that she was indeed, dating Peter.

The Tuesday morning dawned grey and cloudy. Leila and Lily led the way to the Great Hall, chatting merrily as they normally did in the morning. Jess stumbled along, her eyes bleary and Rose walked beside her, observing everything with her usual quiet happiness and amusement.

The Marauders arrived and Peter sat shyly next to Jess, giving her hand a squeeze. James plonked himself next to Leila and Sirius sat next to him. Remus was nowhere to be seen.

Leila frowned, she'd seen Remus leave the tower last night, and James, Sirius and Peter had all had early nights.

"Where's Remus?" she asked James, spreading jam on her toast.

"His mother's sick. He normally visits her often." James replied, not looking up.

"Poor Mrs Lupin" Lily sighed, having heard this story before and completely believing it. Rose looked down sadly, also believing the story.

Leila wasn't convinced; she knew when James was lying.

"When's he coming back?" she asked, James looked up again, facing Leila,

"Wednesday evening." He said promptly. Leila knew this was true. James never looked at her when he was lying, he would look at other people when he lied to them. But not Leila. Never Leila.

"Did he stay with his mum in the holidays?" Rose asked.

"No. She's living at St Mungo's." James replied, looking Rose in the face. Leila felt like laughing, but it would be inappropriate.

Later when they were all leaving, Leila leant over to James.

"I can tell when you're lying, cuz." She whispered, before walking off with Lily.

James watched her leave; suspiciously, he turned to tell Sirius to keep an eye on Leila in case she figured out Remus' secret, but saw that Sirius was already staring after her. James smirked.

"Padfoot? You there?" he asked. Sirius jumped and looked over at James guitily. "I was gonna ask you to keep an eye on Leila but I guess you're already there."

"What? No! I-" Sirius began. But James just grinned.

"Whatever Pads. Whatever."

**A.N- Ok, all done… tell me what you think! Please tell me!**

**I might not actually write any quidditch matches… in fact, I don't think I will but the trials helped out my plot and will be essential later on…**

**Chapter 10- Finding Out! Coming soon!**

**R&R**

**Stay Tuned**

**Toff.x **


	10. Chapter 10: Finding Out

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Ten- Finding out!**

Leila looked through her notes, her eyes scanning across lunar charts.

_29__th__ September… full moon_

Leila frowned. Was she right? Was Remus was a werewolf? The door of the dorm opened.

"Hey Leil, what'cha doin'?" Lily asked.

"Err… Just checking some stuff for astronomy."

"You don't take astronomy." Lily said, peering at the lunar charts.

"Err…" Leila paused, then sighed. "Come with me." She left the dorm and headed to the boys dorms. Lily followed, curiously.

Leila walked briskly up to the pit of mess commonly known as the Marauders dorm, knowing it would be empty.

The first thing she saw that caught her eye was a pile of books by Remus' bed.

She glanced at the first two.

_The Marauders notebook_

_How to become an animagus_

Curiously she opened the first page of the _Marauders notebook. _

_**Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs present…**_

_**The Marauders Notebook**_

"Leil, what are you doing?" Lily asked. Leila looked at the animagi book. Realisation hit her.

_Werewolves aren't dangerous to animals!_

_Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs… they all related to animals!_

It was genius! But how did James, Sirius and Peter manage it?

"Leila?" Lily asked.

"Lily. I think Remus is a werewolf." Leila blurted.

"What?!"

"Just… come with me!" Leila grabbed the animagi book, swapped the cover with a first year transfiguration book so it wouldn't seem stolen and left the room.

They went back to the girls' dorm and Leila locked and soundproofed the room, talking to Lily over her shoulder.

"Ok… I know when James is lying. We're like siblings, he spent half of his childhood in Italy, and I spent half of mine in England. We know each other backwards!" Leila said, something flitted briefly across Lily's face, was it jealousy? Leila dismissed the thought.

"So?" Lily asked.

"Remus' mother isn't sick! He's a werewolf. He transforms in the shrieking shack! Just like Rose's brother did!" Leila explained. Lily frowned slightly, "James, Sirius and Peter know… they wanted to help. So they thought: Werewolves don't attack animals." She held up the animagi book.

"No way!" Lily cried, "You don't think…"

"I do. I've been thinking about it for a while. I mean just think about it! Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs! They all relate to animals!" Leila sitting down on her bed and chewing her lip. Lily acted very calmly and closed her eyes.

"So. What are we going?" Lily asked.

"Huh?"

"What? You think I don't care? Remus is my friend, and as much as I hate to admit it, the marauders really aren't that bad!"

"Ok…" Leila thought for a bit, "Well I don' think we should tell anyone we know. We'll just go with the 'official' story."

"Ok, but don't you think they'll find out, I mean, can't James tell when you're lying?"

"Sort of, but don't worry, I have my ways."

**X-x-X-x-X**

"Wormy, Prongs, Padfoot." Remus said quietly, just before they went to bed.

"Yes Moony," Sirius replied.

"I think I'm gonna tell Rose that- about my, erm… condition."

"Huh? Why?" James asked.

"'Coz. I wanted to ask her if she wanted to come to Hogsmeade with me on the Halloween weekend… and I wouldn't be able to do it if I knew that I was lying to her." Remus looked away, unable to look James and Sirius in the eye. Peter smiled reassuringly at him from the neighbouring bed.

"Are you sure she'll take it Ok?" Sirius asked.

"Pretty sure, I mean, she doesn't care that her brother's a werewolf." He hazarded a glance upwards. Sirius was looking at him with a blank expression and James seemed to be thinking hard. Peter just nodded, whatever that meant. Peter was weird sometimes…

"Well in that case, go for it." James said confidently,

"Besides, she really likes you!" Peter mumbled.

"Yea, she won't care!" Sirius said.

Remus smiled, and his thanks for his friends support passed silently between them.

"Cool, goodnight then."

"Night Moony."

**X-x-X-x-X**

Rose sipped her pumpkin juice sleepily, having just woken up and been dragged downstairs by Leila and Lily. Both Lily and Rose had a free period, so did Remus and James.

Suddenly an owl dropped two letters on her plate and left abruptly. It was Josh's owl.

Rose was wide awake in an instant, she looked at the first letter, it had the St Mungo's seal on it, she ripped it open.

_**Dear Miss R. Phillips,**_

_**It is with great regret that I inform you that your father, Robert H. Phillips, was diagnosed with lycanthropy last night. **_

_**He will be let out of the hospital in 15 days and will return to his place of residence. He has found means of communication and has sent you an owl.**_

_**My condolences for your recent loss,**_

_**Healer M. Highland**_

Rose blinked several times, and opened the next envelope. A small note fell out.

_**Hey Rosie, **_

_**If you haven't already read the St Mungo's letter, do so now.**_

…

_**Dad is speaking to me now… well not in person, but he owled me and asked me to give you this. I'm really sorry.**_

_**Josh x**_

Rose felt her eyes prickle slightly with tears; she took the second piece of parchment out of Josh's envelope.

_**Dearest Rose,**_

_**I assume you've heard the news: I have lycanthropy,**_

_**I'm sorry but I cannot risk looking after you anymore. You can stay at Hogwarts, or go to a friend's house during the holidays. You will be old enough to live on your own when you leave school.**_

_**You are under no circumstances permitted to contact your brother. Do not reply to this letter.**_

_**We won't see each other very much from now on, I'm afraid I won't be keeping in contact. It is too dangerous for a young girl to be associated with a werewolf.**_

_**I love you and I'm sorry**_

_**Dad**_

Rose felt empty, she handed the parchment to Lily and Leila, who read it before passing it on to Jess (who knew the story of Rose's parents now).

"Come on, let's go to the common room." Lily said gently, waving good-bye to Leila and Jess and steering Rose away.

**Along the table**

"You gonna tell Rose this lesson?" James asked casually, Remus nodded.

"Good-luck." Sirius said, patting his friend on the back.

"She won't mind." Peter said. Remus smiled.

He hoped they were right.

**A.N- Uh, oh!**

**Chapter 11- I hate werewolves!**

**Like I said, uh, oh!**

**R&R!**

**Stay Tuned**

**Toff.x**


	11. Chapter 11: I Hate Werewolves

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Eleven- I hate werewolves!**

Remus said goodbye to James who went to sort out some head boy things. Remus cast the secret Marauder spell on the girls' staircase and climbed up until he was outside the 7th year dorm.

Someone was crying inside. It was Rose. Remus frowned, he could tell by his 'wolf instincts' that both Rose and Lily were inside, and he could hear both girls clearly.

"Are you going to be Ok?" Lily asked softly.

"I think so." Rose sniffled; Remus felt her scent brighten very slightly.

A short silence, Remus wondered if he should go in, but Rose spoke.

"I hate werewolves!" she wailed. This caught Remus by surprise, he stumbled, almost falling down the stairs. "My mum's gone, I'm _never _gonna see Dad again! Josh never sees me anyway!"

Remus was starting to feel sick, Rose's parents were killed by werewolves? His plan was ruined. Rose would never accept him for what he was.

"But you could go and see your brother," Lily suggested.

"No." Rose sighed; Remus could hear her standing up, "Dad was right. It's too dangerous for me to be associated with a werewolf."

Remus felt horribly sick now. Tears were starting to prick his eyes.

He suddenly realised that the door was opening and within a second, Rose was right in front of him.

"Remus!" her face lit up, a warm smile spread across it. Remus couldn't bear it. Rose spotted the tears in his eyes and concern blossomed in her own, "Remus? Are you Ok?"

But Remus was gone.

…

"What's up with Remus?" Rose asked Lily.

"What?" Lily snapped, "You- you just talked to Remus?"

"Well I was going to go and find him anyway… but I think he overheard our conversation. Why?" Rose was worried, Lily was panicked.

"Rose you _have_ to go and talk to him! You have no idea how much this means to him!" Lily was nearing hysterics.

"Wha-"

"Just go. You'll see."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Remus collapsed his bed and buried his head in his hands. Rose's words echoed round in his head.

'_I hate werewolves!'_

"Remus?" a small, worried voice asked.

It was Rose. She was sitting down next to him, taking one of his hands. He wished she would go. She was making it worse.

"Remus, please tell me what's wrong. Why are you crying?"

The concern in Rose's voice was killing him.

He would have to just do it.

He looked up, forcing Rose to look him in the eye. His own eyes seemed darkened.

"I-I'm a werewolf, Rose"

Rose tried to stifle a gasp. She dropped his hand. Her eyes widened in horror, disbelief, shock and guilt.

"Y-y-you… but- you- no! You're- you're- you're _Remus_! " Rose was panicking, fear was clear in her eyes. She jumped up, and leant against the nearest bed post, burying her head in her hands. She kept shaking her head and muttering things like 'Just _Remus_!'

Remus took out his wand and removed the slight glamour charms he kept on himself. A long white scar appeared on his cheek, his skin turned greyer than usual and his hair turned paler. Rose turned slightly and stared at him.

Tears appeared in her eyes, she turned around and took a step towards him, reaching up to trace a finger down the scar on his cheek. Remus gently took her wrist and lowered it.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"No. I'm sorry." Remus stood up and grabbed his book bag containing his homework, "I shouldn't have assumed you'd be Ok with it. I mean, you hate werewolves, right?"

Remus turned to leave. Tears rolled down Rose's cheeks. She stood still for a while.

"Remus wait!" she called as Remus reached the door. He turned around. She walked across the room and stood facing him. "My brother was kicked out when he was bitten. My dad didn't want me and mum at risk. In the summer, the same werewolf that got my brother, killed my mum. And yesterday, my dad was diagnosed with lycanthropy. He wrote to me saying that he was too dangerous to look after me and he'd probably never see me again."

Remus looked at Rose's pained look.

"But you said-"

"_I know! _What I said…" Rose looked down, wiped her eyes and looked back up again, "But I was wrong. I was angry. And scared and if I'd known that you were a werewolf then I would never _ever _have said that." Tears were still falling down her cheeks. Remus just looked at her.

"S-so you don't care?" He croaked. She shook her head. He continued to stare at her for a long time before his face split into a wide smile.

Light seemed to shine through his eyes, and upon seeing that Rose smiled in relief. Remus thought back to his friends encouraging words.

"So… you'd come to Hogsmeade with me at Halloween then?" he asked nervously. Surprise covered Rose's face and she blinked before smiling again.

"Y-Yes."

Then, on an instinct that was definitely not a result of lycanthropy, Remus leaned in and kissed her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Is Rose Ok?" Leila asked Lily on their way to Transfiguration.

"Well there was a disaster at first but it worked out Ok." Lily said with a small smile.

"Disaster?"

"Remus overheard her saying that she hated werewolves just before he was going to ask her out."

"Ouch. Was he Ok?"

"Well he looked really upset at first, but like I said, it worked out Ok!" Lily glanced behind her. Leila looked aswell. Remus and Rose had appeared, holding hands and laughing about something.

Peter and Jess came out of a classroom just as Lily and Leila reached it. They stopped and spoke to Jess.

"Is Rose Ok?"

"Yea, Remus helped her out."

Lily nodded at Rose and Remus who were just arriving. James and Sirius appeared next to the group.

"Hey Moony, did you-" James cut off when he saw Rose, "Oh. You did. Ok then, transfiguration!" With that he turned abruptly on one foot and marched off, leaving the others behind, blinking.

Remus and Rose exchanged amused smiles. Lily rolled her eyes. Leila and Sirius laughed, their eyes glittering like they knew something the others didn't. Jess and Peter just smiled.

Then the 7th year Gryffindors walked off to Transfiguration together.

**A.N- Hehe, all better! Sorry about the slow update and the short chapters! And also, Please don't say it's weird that I've sort of paired up the Marauders… it was too complicated if they were all in different years/houses. **

**Chapter 12- The Ravenclaw Wrath! Ooo, dramatic**

**But Anywho! I have a problem, it seems (by looking at people who've added this story to their story alert) that quite a few people are reading this story, but no one's reviewing!! (If you have been reviewing every chapter then I'm very sorry- You are awesome!!) Come on peoples! Review! The 100****th**** review gets a prize!! )**

**Stay tuned**

**Toff.x**


	12. Chapter 12: The Ravenclaw Wrath!

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twelve- The Ravenclaw Wrath!**

Halloween was approaching, it was the Wednesday before the big Hogsmeade weekend, and as usual, many girls were trying to get Sirius to ask them out.

Leila watched him over breakfast, trying to be subtle about it. It wasn't working, she was holding a piece of toast in the air, halfway up to her open mouth. Sirius muttered something to James as a group of Hufflepuff 6th years walked past hopefully

"Someone has a crush on Mr Black ." someone said quietly in Leila's ear. Leila jumped turned round to see Lily smirking.

"What! No! That's just- you're just being-" Leila broke off at Lily's raised eyebrows and sighed. "Fine, maybe I do. But it's not like he feels the same way! Look." Lily looked where Leila was pointing to see Sirius smiling at a Ravenclaw who blushed and ran off, giggling, Sirius then rolled his eyes and turned to James to talk about something else.

Lily smiled fondly at the annoyed expression on her friends face and said, "Well you never know!" before turning back to her breakfast.

Leila frowned and abandoned her toast, trying to focus on the lesson she had coming up so she could check that her homework was done.

At lunch time, Leila found herself sitting next to Jess, thinking about Sirius again.

"Hey, Leila, can I speak to you for a second?"

Leila whirled around and looked up, thinking it was Sirius. It wasn't. She tried not to look disappointed.

It was a 7th year Ravenclaw guy with dirty blonde hair that had obviously been styled to look messy. He had blue eyes that looked eerily vague but shone with a sort of fake charm.

"Err… sure." Leila replied, twisting fully around to face the guy and wondering how he knew her.

"Hi Jess." Peter had arrived, Jess shushed him and watched Leila and the Ravenclaw carefully. Peter followed her gaze and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I'm Marcus Corner. I sit behind you in Arithmancy." Marcus said.

Of course! Leila felt stupid, but annoyed, she'd never liked Corner much. Lily had said that he cheated on almost every girl he'd ever gone out with. He was also a major pranking target for the Marauders (he didn't know why they hated him so much, but Leila knew it was because they'd overheard him insulting Dumbledore and werewolves). After Sirius and probably James, he was probably the most admired guy in the school.

"Yea… I know." She said, raising an eyebrow in and tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear as if to say 'and your point is?'

"Yea… and well, it's the Halloween Hogsmeade visit this weekend…"

Leila felt annoyance build up in her chest; this was the guy who copied her answers every lesson, had an on going fight with her cousin and his best friend and he had subconsciously insulted Remus.

"Is it? I never noticed." Leila said scornfully, Jess and Peter both pressed their lips together to stop themselves laughing. But Corner seemed to think that Leila's comment was just innocent humour. He chuckled softly. His laugh was weird and strangled, sounding forced.

"Well are you going with anyone?" he asked widening his blue eyes in a way that Leila supposed was supposed to be charming. Leila's electric blue eyes flashed dangerously back at him. She looked quite pointedly at Sirius before turning back to Corner and saying matter of factly, "I was planning on going with someone, yes… just… not you."

Corner looked surprised, he looked over at Sirius. Scowled, and walked away.

"Git." Peter muttered.

"He really thinks I'd go out with someone like him? I think I'd have to agree with you Pete" Leila smiled, turning back to her food.

"Ridiculous!" Jess sighed, "So um… do you fancy Sirius or something?" she asked, in a voice that implied she already knew the answer. Leila blushed and Peter smirked.

"Err, well… I guess you could… so what did you write for transfiguration homework?" she asked. Jess and Peter exchanged amused glances before going along with the new subject.

Leila barely noticed Lily arriving and asking Jess what had just happened. She glanced up the table at Sirius, he was staring determinedly at his food. She frowned slightly. A Ravenclaw girl that Leila knew was called Meggin Stone sat next to him with a flirtatious smile. He grinned back and started to talk to her. Leila gaped at them, he was smiling flirtatiously back. The feeling of smugness at tuning down Corner melted into sadness. Lily was wrong… She did know; Sirius _didn't _feel the same way.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Marcus Corner scowled and walked back to the Ravenclaw table. He needed a date. A hot date. Leila Potter would have been perfect. Someone new to Hogwarts and didn't know about his reputation among the Gryffindors. Plus, he'd be able to piss off Potter by going out with her.

But no! She had to go and fall for Black! He'd lost count of the amount of girls he'd lost to Black.

Angry, he sat down at the Ravenclaw table. He needed a date!

"Hi Marcus," a sweet voice said from beside him.

"Hi Meggin." Marcus sighed.

"Did you just ask out Leila Potter?" she asked.

"What's it to you! Besides, she likes Black." He said, grabbing for a sandwhich.

"Really? Black. Wow… I don't like that Potter girl. She hexed my cousin- you know, Margaret, in Slytherin, because she said something about Dumbledore. Honestly!" Meggin rolled her eyes. She glanced over at Black, he was running a hand through his hair. "But he is kind of cute in way… Need revenge?" she asked Marcus, he looked at her.

"What? You mean, you'd go out with him?" he asked. Meggin giggled and batted her eyelashes. She took one of his hands and rubbed her thumb along his palm.

"Only if there's something in it for me…"

Marcus grinned, and leaned forwards, not intending to kiss her in case Black was watching.

"That could be arranged," he said smoothly. Meggin smiled.

"I'll be off then!" she said softly.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Sirius was sitting with Remus who was chatting to Rose. He looked up the table and saw Marcus Corner talking to Leila, obviously chatting her up. He scowled, feeling anger build up inside his chest.

Corner asked her something and she looked over at Sirius before smiling sweetly at Corner and replying. Sirius' jaw dropped, he had been all set to ask Leila out but now she was going out with _Corner_?

Corner was gone; Lily was now sitting with Leila who was looking at him, frowning. Someone sat down next to him and smiled flirtatiously. He grinned back vaguely. She'd blocked his view of Leila.

"Hi Sirius," Meggin said sweetly.

"Hey Meggin!" he said moodily, his anger disappeared at the sight of the pretty blonde. Meggin had startlingly blonde hair, dark blue, spiralling eyes and a light layer of freckles.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?"

"Err, no, I was going to ask someone but… never mind."

"I was going with someone too but he ditched me! Stupid Corner! He's such a git!" Meggin made a face that was halfway between a pout and a frown.

"Well you could come with me if you'd like!" Sirius didn't know why he'd said that, it just slipped out. Practice he supposed.

"Really? You mean it? That would be great!" she said, batting her eyelashes. Sirius smiled.

"Stone! Get back to your own house table!" McGonagall called.

"Oops. I'll see you later Sirius." Meggin said sweetly, she squeezed Sirius' hand before leaving.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Meggin left the Gryffindor table and gave Marcus the thumbs up. It had been surprisingly easy to win Sirius over.

Her plan was working, she was going out with two of the hottest guys in the school! It was going to be a good few weeks.

**A.N- **_Dun, dun, dun! Meggin and Marcus are very Slytherin like but I couldn't put them there or it would never had worked, and they're too mean to be in Hufflepuff… and not very loyal at all. Think of them as smart, misplaced Slytherins!_

_Sorry for the long update and thanks for the reviews- still counting up till 100!! I won't update again until I've had 5 reviews for this chapter! Ha! Blackmail!_

_Next Chapter…. Hogsmeade Weekend_

_Please review and stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	13. Chapter 13: Halloween Weekend

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirteen- Halloween Weekend!**

Remus and Rose stared at Sirius in slight shock.

"Padfoot, why did you do that?" Remus asked quietly, staring at the spot where Meggin had just been sitting.

"I… don't know." Sirius said slowly, pushing food around his plate with his fork.

"Hi Moony, hi Padfoot, hey Rose!" James had arrived. He sat down and grinned round at them all. Sirius was about to make an urgent signal to Remus, when Rose spoke, saying exactly what he _didn't_ want James to know.

"He just agreed to go out with Meggin Stone." She said, pointing accusingly at Sirius. James turned to Sirius in shock and Sirius recoiled… James was scary when he got angry.

"I thought you were asking Leila out!" he said furiously.

"I- what?" Sirius stared at James, jaw open, all fear and shock lost. How did James know that? He voiced his question.

"Well it's obvious you had a huge crush on her!" Rose said, rolling her eyes. Remus nodded his agreement. James took no notice, glaring at his best friend with murder in her eyes.

"And look at her now!" James said, pointing down the table. Sirius looked, sure enough, Leila looked very slightly sad, little things had subtly changed her posture, and her eyes didn't hold the same sparkle they usually had.

But wouldn't that mean that she liked him back?

"But she's going out with Corner!" Sirius voiced his thoughts.

"Who is?" Lily had arrived.

"Leila!" Sirius cried.

"No she's not. She just rejected him." Lily looked at Sirius as though he'd gone mad. James scowled.

"But that's not what it looked like!" Sirius protested feebly. Remus and Rose were still looking disapproving, James was still scowling and Lily had begun to glare at him.

"I mean, she was all smiles and flirting with him!" Sirius added. The look on James' face might have drilled a hole through Sirius's head, Lily's glare was heightening, Sirius gulped. No one survived the Evan's glare.

He faltered and looked down,

"She doesn't like me back anyway," he mumbled. Lily and James exchanged a glance; both knowing perfectly well that Leila was practically in love with Sirius but both sworn to secrecy.

"See, you can't even encourage me 'coz you know it's true." Sirius said, "I might as well give up now!"

He left his friends, glaring himself. As he left he caught a glance of Leila. The breathtakingly beautiful girl who usually looked so happy and carefree looked exactly like she had when Sirius had had to comfort her after her dad died. But that day was long gone…

_xXxFLASHBACKxXx_

_It was Leila's 3__rd__ day at Potter Manor and the loss of her father was starting to affect her badly._

_Sirius had heard her crying from his room next door in the middle of the night. He pushed open the door to see her on her bed, curled up in a ball and crying her heart out._

"_Leila?" he asked softly. She looked up, her eyes sparkled with tears but lit up slightly when she saw him. It was amazing how she could be an emotional wreck and still look gorgeous…_

"_Hi Sirius," she mumbled._

" _Hey." He moved into the room and closed the door behind him. "What's up?"_

"_My dad."_

_Sirius walked across the room and sat on the bed with her. To his surprise she leant into him._

"_I miss him." She mumbled. Sirius put a tentative arm around her. She sniffled._

"_Sorry, but I'm not really an expert in that area…" he said apologetically, thinking of his own father, who hated him. Leila let out a small watery laugh and put her head on Sirius' shoulder._

_They stayed like that in silence for a while, until Leila stopped crying. She straightened up and smiled slightly._

"_Sorry," she mumbled._

"_It's Ok, you should get some rest," Sirius replied with a smile. She wiped her eyes then gave Sirius a hug._

"_Thanks." She said quietly, then she lay down and closed her eyes. Sirius got up slowly, turned the light off and as he was closing the door, looked back at Leila. She was already half-asleep, her black hair splayed out round her head._

"_Anytime." He breathed. Then he left to go back to bed._

_xXxFLASHBACK OVERxXx _

Sirius sighed; he had felt so hopeful that night… but now it was pointless, he was just a brother to Leila. Not as close as James, but close all the same. Just not in the way Sirius had hoped.

Maybe he should just give up now…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That Saturday, Sirius took Meggin to Madame Puddifoots (at her request), Remus and Rose had a late lunch to avoid the other people they knew would be in the three broomsticks, for example Peter and Jess. James had no date and so he accompanied Lily and Leila. Lily had been annoyed at first but as it turned out, he wasn't so bad. They went to the Three Broomsticks where they spotted Jess and Peter snogging (Lily and Leila forced James not to tease them and ruin their first date) then they went to the shrieking shack and James told them all about how they managed to help Remus on full moons.

That evening in the girls' dorm, each girl was sitting on their bed, eating left over honeydukes sweets and listening to quiet music.

"So Jess, Rose, tell us about your dates! How'd they go?" Lily asked happily.

"Well," Rose began, "We had a late lunch so we didn't bump into James or Sirius because Remus said they'd tease us." Lily and Leila exchanged glances and Jess blushed, "So he took me to Honeydukes and basically walked around. And then I wanted to go to the Shrieking Shack and he told me about what he does on full moons and we talked about Josh 'coz it turns out he's one of Remus' good friends!" Rose paused to eat a chocolate frog, "Um…" she blushed, "So, then we were alone by the shrieking shack and err… yeah… then we came back." Lily and Leila exchanged smirks. Rose went red. "So anyway… Jess's turn!"

"Well, we went to Honeydukes first to get some snacks, and then we went for a walk round the village. And then we went to the three broomsticks and ate lunch… but we err… bumped into Lily, Leila and James." Jess blushed at Lily and Leila who were stifling giggles,

"They were snogging." Leila informed Rose helpfully.

"We had to silence James so he wouldn't yell out to them!" Lily sighed.

"So anyway!" Jess said loudly, "We left and saw Sirius and Meggin. And Sirius yelled… err… something, to Peter so we went on another walk to avoid him. Then we came back."

"All that time trying to prevent James from embarrassing you and Black did it anyway," Lily sighed, shaking her head. Leila didn't say anything. Sirius was a touchy subject for her at the moment.

"It won't last." Rose said quietly,

"What?" Leila asked, going pink.

"Sirius and Meggin. It won't last." Rose said, Jess and Lily immediately agreed.

"Yea. He doesn't really like her!" Jess said,

"I bet he's just dating her to make you jealous!" Lily added, Leila thought it sounded more like a fact than an assumption, but she didn't look up.

"Yea. Sure, whatever." She sighed.

"Come on Leil. Everyone knows it should have been you and him going together. Even my friend Hazel agrees." Lily said. Leila grinned evilly as something hit her,

"Are you saying that to reassure me or because you wished you could have gone alone with James?" she asked. Lily went red. Jess and Rose roared with laughter.

Leila felt a bit better. It was good to have friends.

**A.N- **_This chapter was going to be longer, but I changed my mind!_

_A little bit of James and Lily next chapter! 14- Less Excuses_

_Don't forget to review! Last time was awesome! I love all of you. Same deal this time, except the bar's been lifted to 7!!_

_Luv-ya_

_Toff.x_


	14. Chapter 14: Less Excuses

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Fourteen- Less excuses**

It wasn't like James to be stuck inside in the middle of a bright sunny Saturday. Most people were outside enjoying themselves.

But as head boy and a seventh year, James had a lot of work to do.

Lily was sitting across the room from him working on her potions essay and James glanced up at her every now and then, each time noticing something about her that made her even more beautiful.

He had his back to the girls' dorm staircase but he could hear the light footsteps due to his animagi senses.

"James?" a voice asked softly. It was Leila's voice. But then again it wasn't Leila's voice at all. Leila sounded at least a bit cheerful all the time and it was slightly vague and feminine at the same time as being bold, strong and determined. But this voice was small, shaky and uncertain. It still had the vagueness and feminine-ness but it was magnified and twisted with grief and sadness. All happiness gone.

James put down his work and turned around to see his cousin at the foot of the girls' dorm steps. She was still in her dressing gown, even though it was 1o' clock in the afternoon. Her usual sleek black hair was messy and tousled and her electric blue eyes shone with tears instead of the usual kindness, slight dreaminess and of course mischief.

James' own eyes filled with concern, he stood up and walked towards Leila. He felt Lily's eyes on them from behind him.

"Leil? Are you Ok? You look awful." He said. Leila looked up at him. The pain in her eyes pierced him and he only just managed not to wince.

"It's Dad's birthday today." She said in barely more than a whisper.

James' eyes widened, his heart sank. Leila collapsed into tears and James hugged her, leading her over to the couch so she could sit down. She cried into his shoulder.

Potter birthdays were a big deal. On Leila's dad's birthday they'd usually go to one of Leila's mother's favourite Italian parks. Just Leila, her dad, James and his dad. Then they'd have a picnic and play quidditch in the special muggle-proof area that was set up especially for magical folk like them. After that James and his dad would go home and Leila and her dad would spend an evening together at home.

"Shhh," he said to Leila softly. She sniffed. The change in her was unbelievable; she was usually cheerful and confident, but now she was anything but.

James mumbled comfort to his cousin for what seemed like hours until she finally agreed to go and get changed then come down to have something to eat.

She sighed, wiped her eyes and half-heartedly smiled.

"Thanks James." She said quietly before leaving the room.

James smiled to himself and began packing up his work so he could accompany Leila downstairs in a little while. He felt someone's eyes on him and looked up.

Lily was staring at him. Her green eyes wide and filled with an emotion James couldn't place. Her auburn hair was shining slightly in the sunlight that streamed through the window. She really was the most beautiful person on earth, James reflected.

She looked away.

_Too bad she'll never feel the same way about me…_

**X-x-X**

Lily watched as James mumbled comfort to Leila until she was a bit happier. After a long time she went back up to the girls' dorm, wiping her eyes. James watched her, smiled, turned around and caught Lily staring at him.

He stared back at her, their eyes met and Lily looked away, trying not to think of his messy hair or perfect grin or gorgeous hazel eyes.

Lily glanced up at him again. She couldn't forget the look of loving concern on James' face. Her excuses for not liking James were wearing thin. Very thin. She looked at him again.

He's so hot…

_Where did that come from?_

Well he is…

_Yea, he is…_

**X-x-X-x-X**

Days wore on and December was approaching. Meggin wasn't the only one still surprised that she and Sirius were still dating.

They didn't do much together though; Meggin spent most of her time with Marcus Corner. She suspected that he was dating other girls but didn't mind that much, everyone knew about her and Sirius so it was all good really.

The only bad thing was that all of Sirius' friends seemed to hate her…

**A.N- **_This chapter was going to be longer but I cut it short 'coz I wanted to keep it as a mainly James and Lily chapter!_

_Next chapter- Chapter 15- The light blue paper_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	15. Chapter 15: The light blue paper

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Fifteen- The light blue paper**

Leila tipped back her chair and yawned, running both hands through her silky black hair. She sighed and leant forward, causing her chair to hit the ground with a loud thud. No one seemed to notice.

She scanned the room; Lily was listening to the Professor, but not listening. Rose was immersed in a text book about the History of Hogwarts, looking over the rim of it every few seconds to see if the Professor had noticed- which of course was never going to happen. She was oblivious to the fact that Remus was sitting in the Marauders row (a few rows behind the Gryffindor girls' row, watching her every move in a trance like state. Jess was gazing dreamily over her shoulder at Peter who had dozed off and had his head resting on his arms. James doodled on a scrap piece of parchment, glancing in Lily's direction every now and then.

A small, light blue piece of muggle-like paper suddenly materialised on Leila's desk. It displayed a message written in familiar, spiky handwriting.

'_Heya Honey, howzit hangin? Don't u think HoM is borin?'_

Leila glanced over her shoulder and searched for the familiar face of Sirius who was grinning. His chair was tipped back, causing his hair to fall across his eyes, making him look annoyingly attractive.

She wrote back: _'I guess so… don't let m.stone see this'_

She was about to pass the message back when she saw both her words, and Sirius's fade into the parchment. She blinked a few times before more spiky words showed up in their place.

'_How come? And this paper is magical in case u were wonderin…'_

'_No way. U had me fooled.' _She scribbled back before frowning and adding, _'I thought Meggin was your Honey…'_

She heard a vague snort from Sirius's direction and his reply came back, seeming to gleam with a Marauder grin.

'_She's my sweetheart, your my Honey!' _Leila scowled. She wasn't in the mood for Sirius's games.

'_Oh, so now your 2-timing?'_

'_I neva said that'_

'_U implied that'_

'_Calm down Honey'_

'_I'm not your Honey and I dont want to be!!' _Leila's anger was betrayed in the words; they flared red before fading. She wondered if the parchment knew whether she was lying…

'_Oooo, get angry! Besides, un no u luv it!!' _ Leila turned around and glared in Sirius's direction, hoping it would make him stop being so irritating. It didn't work.

He put on his most charming smile and winked. Her anger softened and she bit her lip. Sirius ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.

This wasn't fair… how dare he use the 'hot' card. She sighed and picked up her quill.

'_How do even do it?'_

'_Do what?'_

'_Stay single'_

'_I don't'_

Leila sighed and smiled slightly. _'Yes. I know that.'_

'_Your talking riddles!' _

Leila giggled and shook her head fondly. Lily frowned at her. _'Yes. I know that.'_

'_Dam u Potter!'_

'_What hapend to Honey?'_

'_Thought u didn't like that.'_

'_I neva said that.'_

'_Oh, so now your quotin me? Someone has a cruuush!!'_

'_Dam u Black!'_

'_Aw, I love you too!!'_

'_Haha… Im real amused.'_

'_Does that mean u love me too?'_

Leila frowned. The words didn't look like the others; the others seemed more like it was a joke… She was about to turn around when the bell rang. She frowned and tucked the parchment into her pocket.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila didn't remember Sirius's jokey messages until that evening while she was tucked up in bed. She thought of his words.

It seemed weeks ago since the message that once seemed so serious had appeared on the paper, just that morning. But thinking about it now, Leila wondered if she'd misread the signs. Maybe it was all just humour…

She reached into her pocket and looked at the message again. The spiky words showed no emotion; and that's all they really were weren't they? Spiky, emotionless words. She ran a thumb over the message, just as a new line of writing appeared, flashing with the same seriousness as before.

'_Does it?'_

Leila blinked. The message confused her. It had been nice, joking around in History of Magic with him, but now…

He had a girlfriend! Why was he asking her this? Was it a joke? A dare? Some stupid Marauder prank. She sighed. It had been going well, for those few, precious minutes…

She tucked the note into her pocket once more and fell backwards onto her pillow.

Maybe she'd figure it out in the morning…

**X-x-X-x-X**

Unfortunately, Leila didn't figure it out in the morning. And it wasn't until the last day of term when she really gave it that much thought.

But first, Sirius had something he needed to do.

**X-x-X-x-X**

The 7th year Gryffindors sat around the common room fire on the last day of term, waiting for the day to end so they could wake up next morning and go home. Leila had invited Lily round to stay and Rose was coming too since she had nowhere else to go. Remus was also going to come but not until after Christmas day and the full moon. Jess was going back to her house for the whole holidays and Peter was spending a quiet Christmas at home.

Peter and Jess were currently on the floor leaning against the table and holding hands. Remus and Rose sat on the same armchair, discussing who knew what while Remus absently played with her hair with one hand.

Lily was doing head girl work in another armchair and James sat on the floor, leaning back against the same chair while doing homework on his lap.

Sirius lay sideways on the side of the couch, staring over at the girl on the other side of the couch. Leila was curled up and had her eyes closed. Sirius sighed and tore his eyes away from her to stare into the fire.

He thought of what he had seen on the Marauders Map this morning. 2 dots, right almost on top of each other and in a broom cupboard. The same cupboard that Sirius had shown Meggin a few days ago. How could he be so stupid?

After a few minutes of silence apart from the crackling fire and Remus and Rose's mumbles, he couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up. Everyone looked up at him. Even Leila opened her eyes sleepily. He stared at the electric blue colour, that was faded slightly by sleep and was filled with determination.

He grabbed the Marauders Map, which was disguised as a piece of parchment and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I'm going for a walk." He told the room before leaving abruptly.

**X-x-X-x-X**

He found Meggin on the third floor.

She was glancing worriedly behind her and her hair was a bit ruffled; an unusual look for the fashion obsessed Ravenclaw. She clutched a book bag in one hand which she almost dropped at the sight of Sirius striding towards her with an odd expression on his face.

"Hi Sirius!" she said in a bright, flustered voice.

Sirius didn't reply. Instead he grabbed Meggin around to waist and pulled her towards him. He leant his head down so that his lips were centimetres away from her cheek. Meggin let out a small squeal before smiling slightly and going along.

She felt Sirius entwine his hands in her hair and run his fingers along her back. But over her shoulder, someone else stood with a book bag. Glaring at the pair and not moving.

Sirius moved his lips so that they were almost touching Meggin's and stopped. Meggin, who'd been enjoying herself, frowned and moved back slightly to see her boyfriend giving her a strange, calculating look.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, a trace of a whine in her voice as she reached up to stroke his hair. Sirius pulled her closer again and murmured in her ear.

"Where's Marcus Corner?"

"Wha-?" Meggin tried to pull back but Sirius wouldn't let her. The Black family scowl was creeping onto his face, something that darkened his features and made him quite frightening. It didn't suit him and he knew that. Even so, it had the desired effect.

"I'm here." Said a strong, angry voice from behind Meggin, interrupting her cry. Sirius let go of Meggin and she yelped, stumbling backwards. Marcus Corner was still glaring.

"Good." Said Sirius, and before Marcus or Meggin could realise what he was doing, Sirius's fist slammed straight into Marcus's face, pushing him to the floor and causing Meggin to scream.

Sirius turned to his girlfriend- or ex-girlfriend- and scowled once more.

"I'm not stupid."

And then he was gone.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila was wide awake now. She raised her head to watch Sirius sit back down on the couch with a dark but satisfied look.

"You look happy." She commented. Sirius shrugged and grinned at her, making him look unbearably good-looking.

"I'm always happy!" he said casually.

"Sure." Leila said sarcastically. Sirius laughed.

"Well let's just say that I am now officially single!" he said with a wink. Leila blinked and her heart leaped. She didn't show it and rolled her eyes.

"Oh no." she groaned. Sirius laughed again and a short silence followed.

"So, looking forward to the holidays?" he asked.

"I'll miss Dad." Leila mumbled. "But it should be fun!"

"Yea… maybe you'll be lucky and get caught with someone under the mistletoe." Sirius waggled his eyebrows. Leila rolled her eyes again, hoping that he couldn't see the blush that had crept onto her cheeks.

"Yea right. The only guys there are either family or you!" she scoffed.

"What's wrong with me?" Sirius asked. It wasn't a joke.

Leila looked at him, a bit startled. Why did he do this to her? Couldn't he just carry on joking? She shivered slightly as blue eyes met grey.

"I'm gonna go to bed." James yawned.

"Me too." Said Lily.

Leila glanced at Sirius with an odd expression.

"Me three." She said vaguely.

Sirius watched her leave, and then followed James up to bed.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila sat on her bed with the hangings drawn around her. She couldn't deny that she was in love with him, but it was just so hard.

He could have a laugh and play around, writing her notes in class and fooling around, pretending to flirt. She didn't mind him doing that. That was just him, and she liked it.

But the way he could switch, just like that, and look her straight in the eye. Almost as if he knew.

And that's what confused her. Did he love her? Did he know that she loved him? Did he realise that when he asked those questions it made her love him even more, yet confuse her to the point of making her want to cry?

No? Yes? She didn't think he did. But maybe… just maybe…

She pulled out the note from History of Magic a few weeks ago and read the words that were written in the spiky handwriting of Sirius Black.

'_Does that mean u love me too?'_

'_Does it?'_

She took a deep breath and conjured a quill and ink.

Even if he didn't know, she could still tell him. She dipped the quill in the ink.

'_Yes.'_

**A.N- **_Well I must say that whole chapter was very unexpected. It just all came out. And a big thanks to __**Abena **__who gave me the idea of the flirting bit in History of Magic!!_

_Coming up next: __**Chapter 16- Moony's Parents**__….. _

_You know the deal… over 5 reviews!_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	16. Chapter 16: Moony's Parents

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Sixteen- Moony's Parents**

"Are you sure it's no trouble for me to stay with you?" Rose asked as the girls sat down in their compartment.

"Yes, it'll be fine. You can sleep in my room like Lils." Leila replied cheerfully. "Uncle Tiberus and Aunt Catherine might be inviting everyone's families around for a Christmas party so we'll get to see Jess too."

"My parents won't come, they're muggles. Besides, even if they did come, then my step-brothers would have to come aswell. And I hate my step-brothers, they pick on me 'coz they think I'm weird." Jess scowled at no one in particular.

"My parents would come but it would be kind of weird considering they're muggles too." Lily gave them a half-hearted smile, "Besides, they'll want to be at my sisters wedding which I wasn't invited to."

Leila patted her friend's arm reassuringly, knowing how Lily had really wanted to be a part of her sisters wedding.

"I don't have anyone who'd be willing to come." Rose mumbled.

"Well we could invite Josh." Leila suggested.

"Yeah right. And how would you do that?"

"Remus knows him well. Or you could write." Leila said.

"I'm not supposed to see him." Rose reminded them.

"Oh please!" Lily scoffed, "Because you'd be with a werewolf therefore ignoring you dad's orders? You're dating Remus for god's sake!"

Rose stared at Lily whose hand flew to her mouth, Leila glared at her friend. Jess looked confused.

"'You're dating Remus?' What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. No one heard her.

"How do you know?" Rose asked, pointing at Lily, "Only me and the Marauders know!"

"Well, um…" Leila began.

"You know too?" Rose cried.

"KNOW WHAT?" Jess yelled. They all turned to face her. Rose closed her eyes and sighed.

"Jess, you can't tell anyone, but Remus is a werewolf." She said lowly. Jess blinked a few times, her face expressionless.

"Oh. Well… that's… that's actually kind of a relief…"

"How?" asked Lily, looking perplexed. Jess smiled.

"Well let's just say that Peter is a really bad liar!" she laughed. Leila and Lily smiled but Rose was still suspicious.

"Look, I always suspected that you knew at least something… maybe Remus being friends with Josh… I mean, why else would you have got so worried when Remus overheard us earlier in the term. But how the hell did you find out about Remus himself… and what else do you know?" Rose was getting a bit defensive.

"Rose, me and James are as close as anything! And it's impossible for him to lie to me… you couldn't really expect me to believe all that crap about Remus' mum being sick…" Leila bit her lip. Rose still looked a tad confused. "And besides, once I figured out that Remus had left on a full moon, and come back looking sick, it was easy! That along with the boys' animal related nicknames… not hard to figure out the animagi bit!"

"Animagi?" Jess interrupted. Lily sighed; they'd have a lot of explaining to do.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"James."

"Yes Padfoot."

"I broke up with Meggin."

"What?" James sat up from his position leaning against the window. Sirius was blinking at him, his expression solemn.

"Err… I broke up with Meggin?" He repeated, the corners of his lips tugging up slightly. James grinned.

"Well that's good. I never liked her much… but can I ask why?" James leant forward eagerly.

"She was cheating on me." Sirius replied simply.

"Really?" James looked a bit surprised.

"Yeah, with Corner."

"Is that the only reason?" Came Remus' voice. James and Sirius turned their heads to see Remus watching them out of the corner of his eye, head turned to the chessboard he was using to beat Peter. The boys didn't seem surprised that Remus wasn't waiting for an answer and just continued playing chess. It was easy for him to have two conversations due to his werewolf hearing.

"No." Sirius sighed. He looked out the window at the passing scenery.

"What's the other one?" James asked slyly. Sirius didn't look at him. An image came up in his mind, an image of a black haired, blue eyed girl with the Potter grin…

"Leila."

"YES!" Remus said loudly. Sirius frowned and turned round to look at him. Remus looked up and grinned at him. "Checkmate!" Sirius rolled his eyes. James was grinning happily.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Oh nothing." He smiled.

"_What_?"

"You'll see!"

Sirius frowned and looked outside again.

**X-x-X-x-X**

The train came slowly to a halt. Rose and the other girls picked up their stuff and headed off the train.

They met the Marauders outside and James, Sirius and Leila started looking for the Potter's. Lily said goodbye to Jess, Peter and Remus before joining them. Jess and Peter withdrew themselves to kiss goodbye. Rose turned to Remus.

"Bye then." She said softly.

"Yeah, I'll see you after Christmas." He said.

"I hope the moon isn't too harsh on you." She smiled slightly at how weird that sounded.

Remus smiled back and leant in to kiss her. He put one hand on her cheek and she wrapped her arms round his neck, pressing herself against him.

"See, I _knew_ you two would get along!"

Remus and Rose jumped apart and turned to see a tanned young man looking down at them with a grin that twisted the long scar running down his cheek.

"_Josh_?" Rose cried, in shock.

"Hey sis! Hi Remus." Josh said cheerfully. Remus went red.

"Err… what are you doing here?" Rose asked, blushing herself.

"Well, if the people you're staying with don't mind. I wanted to spend Christmas with you." Josh said with a grin. Rose glanced over her shoulder at Sirius, Lily and the Potters.

"But Dad said-" she began,

"Um Rose…" Remus interrupted. Rose blushed again, thinking of what Lily had said before... _"Oh come on, your dating Remus for God's Sake!" _She smiled.

"Well… if Leila doesn't mind…"

"Rose, it's time to… oh, hello." Leila flashed Josh her most Potter-like grin.

"Um… Leila, this is Josh. Josh, this is my friend Leila Potter." Rose said nervously.

"Hi! It's great to meet you!" Leila said brightly, shaking Josh's hand. Josh grinned at her.

"Are you the one taking Rose away for the holidays?" he asked.

"Well… my uncle and aunt really… but no one'll mind Rose going home with you if that's what you want. She's invited to our Christmas Party on Boxing Day so we should see her around that time… You can come aswell if you like!" Leila beamed at Rose and Josh proudly, much like one would look at two five-year-olds once they'd just built a tower out of blocks.

"That sounds great!" Josh said, pretending to ignore Leila's look.

"Great!" Leila hugged Rose; "We'll owl you then. Seeya later Rose. Bye Remus!"

And then she was gone.

"Well… She was… different." Josh said vaguely. Rose and Remus laughed.

"That's Leila for you. Wait till you meet Padfoot!" Remus chuckled. He slapped Josh on the back and scanned the crowd that was gathered on the platform and frowned. "Wait, that's my… uncle? What's he doing here? He doesn't speak to us."

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Rose asked, trying to see who Remus was looking at. Remus bit his lip.

"Yeah. You're probably right… I'll see you at the party Rose. Bye Josh." And after kissing Rose on the cheek and squeezing her hand reassuringly, he was gone.

A short silence followed.

"So… you two are dating?" Josh asked, offering to help Rose with her trolley.

"Mmmhmm." Rose smiled vaguely, still staring after Remus.

"That's cool. We're good friends you know."

"Really?" Rose asked, her voice still far away as Josh led her towards the exit.

"Really. I met him in my 7th year during a full moon. He's had lycanthropy since he was four."

Rose started and looked up at her brother, broken out of her trance.

"That long?" She gasped.

"Yeah… his family backed him up and he has good friends, but you probably know that. I wish I'd been as lucky as him…" Josh smiled sadly down at his little sister who smiled back before looking up to see Remus staring at an old, grumpy looking man in horror.

"Wait." Rose said, putting one arm out to stop Josh. He frowned and scanned the crowd to see what it was Rose had stopped him for. They strained their ears and listened to the conversation.

"…_Never did anything wrong!"_ Remus was saying, his voice cracking.

"_Yeh, well… she never was the best o' sisters!" _the voice that must belong to Remus' uncle was gruff and emotionless.

"_How can you say that!? And who am _I_ gonna stay with? _You_ won't take me in!"_

"_To right I won't! I'm not housing a filthy creature like you!" _Rose clenched her fists, she felt Josh stiffen beside her.

"_So where am I gonna-?"_

"_Ah shut up yeh stupid boy! I've got better things to do than listen to yeh moping."_

Remus' Uncle stormed of and Remus was left alone, a tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't move.

"Remus! Are you Ok?" Rose cried, running forward to embrace her boyfriend. Remus fell forwards into Rose's arms and stared blankly over her shoulder.

"Gone." He murmured, "Gone… both of them… just… gone…"

"Remus what happened? What did he say?" Rose said, starting to panic. Remus let out a dry sob.

"I… it's my parents…"

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila grinned across the car at Sirius. Sirius smiled back at her and winked.

_He's _so_ hot…_

They were sitting in the back of a muggle car that James' dad had legally modified to be magical. Leila was by the car window; Lily was in the middle next to Sirius who was next to James. Uncle Tiberus and Aunt Catherine were in the front seats.

They were almost home; driving through the little country village that Potter Manor was built on the outskirts of.

They left the village and turned onto a little dirt road which they followed until the sides of the road were bordered by trees. They turned off of the track and through a pair of large wooden doors which opened magically. A grand driveway led up through the trees to reveal a beautiful and big house.

"Wow." Lily breathed, "Your house is so beautiful!"

"Thank you." Aunt Catherine said from the front, turning around to beam at Lily. James was watching her too. Lily caught his eye and quickly looked away. Sirius rolled his eyes at Leila who stifled a giggle.

"Ok, everyone out. We'll pack up your trunks." Uncle Tiberus said cheerfully.

"Ok Mr Potter!" "Thankyou." "Cool." Leila just smiled.

"Want a tour of the house Lily?" she asked.

"Sure." Lily beamed after glancing at James who had just re-mussed his hair.

"Take her to the garden." Sirius suggested with a knowing smile.

"Good idea, come on."

Both girls glanced over their shoulders as they left James and Sirius and walked round the side of the house to the back garden.

The back garden of Potter Manor was pretty amazing. The forest ended and there was a large grassy plain excellent for playing quidditch (complete with goal hoops too). At the end of the plain was a blue-ish green lake that disappeared into the forest that continued down one side of the garden. On the other side of the lake was a little cottage that contained a bunk bed, a small area for cooking and a bathroom. It was James and Leila's place that they had named the Den when they were little and James had just moved in.

"Wow." Lily said again.

"Mmm, it's great." Leila agreed.

"Leila! Lily!"

The girls broke out of their trances and whirled around to see James running towards them looking urgent. When he stopped, he was breathing hard and his eyes shone with something that hadn't troubled him since he visited Leila back in the summer holidays to find his uncle dead.

"What's up?" Lily asked, concerned, but all the same clueless about the look in his eyes.

"The- the Lupins." James panted, "Moony's parents. The Death Eaters found them this morning… They... they're dead."

**A.N-**_ Dun, dun, dun!_

_Oooh… are you screaming for the next chapter??_

_5 reviews : that's all it takes_

_Next chapter: __**'One Hundred and fifty three'**__ And it'll include Rose's dad!_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	17. Chapter 17: One Hundred and Fifty Three

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Seventeen- One Hundred and Fifty Three**

Robert Phillips sighed. He'd just woken up with an owl from Dumbledore and notification of John and Kathy Lupin's deaths and he was wondering about their son, Remus. He knew that Josh was friends with him and that he was a werewolf but that was about all.

Remus Lupin… he was in Gryffindor, and the same year as Rose.

He frowned. Was Rose safe, at Hogwarts?

He shrugged it off and re-read the letter from Dumbledore.

**To Robert,**

**I think it would be safer for you if you moved somewhere else and laid low for a while. There has recently been an attack on the parents of Remus Lupin, a boy of 17 who suffers from lycanthropy. The boy is staying at your son's flat. I suggest visiting them. I will arrive and explain details later.**

**Thank you,**

**Sincerely**

**Albus Dumbledore**

He sighed. He was the Order's werewolf messenger since he wasn't used to transformations yet. He didn't mind this job; it was good to be able to help bring down the people that had sent the werewolf to him that had killed his wife. And he liked to be involved with the action. He may not go on missions or anything but he was still in a considerable amount on danger, doing what he did.

The only thing he really didn't like about the job was the fact that, he had to see Josh on a regular basis.

He didn't mind being around Josh, but it was always tense and awkward. It hurt Robert when he heard his own son introducing himself as 'Josh Price' instead of 'Josh Phillips'.

He sighed, it was time to go and visit Josh now, and he would meet the Lupin boy.

He walked towards his fireplace and within an instant was whizzing through different fireplaces until he finally stumbled into the small living room of his son's apartment.

But it wasn't his son that he found.

It was his daughter.

Sleeping in the arms of Remus Lupin.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Rose smiled warmly at Remus and handed him his cup of tea. He smiled weakly back but the smile didn't reach his eyes. It had been a day since the holidays had started and his only comfort was Rose. His parents funeral was in 2 days.

"Are you Ok?" Rose asked softly.

"Not really… but thanks." He croaked back.

"For what?"

"Everything. Nothing. Being you." He whispered. Rose just smiled again and set her drink down. He put his own drink down on the little coffee table and sighed, closing his eyes and putting his head on Rose's shoulder.

"I love you." She breathed, lifting a hand to run her hands through his hair. He sat up a bit and pulled her towards him.

"It's getting late… we should go to sleep." He murmured.

"Mmm," Rose said, settling herself in Remus' arms. Remus looked down at her peaceful face while she drifted into sleep. He held her tighter and closed his own eyes.

Somehow, he didn't think he'd be able to get to sleep that easily for a while.

**X-x-X**

"Rose?" It was an incredulous voice, dripping with rage and disbelief. Remus opened his eyes with a groan and felt Rose shift against him, her arm crept across his chest but he had stiffened.

The man in front of him was taller than Rose, but shorter than Josh and Remus. He had tanned skin like both Rose and Josh but had Josh's eyes and neither siblings' build. Even so, it was obvious that this man was the father of both.

"What is this?" Mr Phillips asked, scowling in a way that would make Lucias Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange combined, seem cute. Remus blinked in shock. He glanced down to see himself with his arms wrapped around Rose who was pretty much on his lap with one arm across his chest.

"Err… Rose, you might want to wake up for this…" He said uncertainly, keeping watch on the fuming man before him.

"Why?" Rose asked sleepily, opening one eye. She caught sight of her father and yelped, sitting bolt upright and widening her eyes. She slid of Remus' lap took her arm off his chest. He bit his lip, looking very nervous.

Josh chose that moment to come into the room.

"Hey Rose can you- Dad?" Josh's eyes went from his father to Rose to Remus and back to his father. "Oh. Dear…"

"_What_ is _my_ daughter doing in _your_ flat?" Mr Phillips demanded.

"Dad." Rose said quietly.

"Well, she err," Josh began nervously.

"Didn't I give you instructions? Didn't I say that you weren't to keep in contact with her? It's dangerous Joshua! Dangerous! Do you _want_ your little sister to get hurt? _Do you_?" Mr Phillips glared at his son and turned to Remus, "And as for you! _You_ should be ashamed of yourself! No one should live with a werewolf! _No one_! Look where your parents ended up!"

"Dad!" Rose cried, standing up. A look of shock, shame and guilt spread across Remus' face. But Mr Phillips wasn't done.

"Now I want you to keep your filthy hands off my daughter or-"

"_Dad_!" Rose snapped.

"-You'll be feeling even worse this full moon!"

Remus scowled and clenched his fists. This man was reminding him more and more of his uncle. Mr Phillips looked him over.

"But you're still young aren't you? I bet you think you're really tough don't you, going through all those full moons! You probably only got bitten a few months ago looking at the age of you. How many transformations have you actually been through boy?"

"Dad." Rose warned. Remus didn't say anything. Mr Phillips's face was set. He glared at Remus with a sort of wild anger in his eyes. Remus held the gaze until he finally dropped his head and stared at the floor.

"See!" Mr Philips cried triumphantly, "You can't even admit that you've only-"

"One hundred and fifty three." Remus said in a deathly quiet voice. Mr Phillips broke off and frowned angrily.

"What was that boy?"

"I've been through one hundred and fifty three transformations in my life." Remus said, his voice still deathly quiet, "That's 12 times a year for 13 years. And no, I don't count them. I can remember them."

Rose took a deep, shaky breath. Josh regarded Remus sadly, and Mr Phillips seemed at loss for what to say. He was silent for a time before scowling cruelly.

"Well you've obviously had a lot of time to practice biting then hasn't it?" he said eventually.

A dark look fell across Remus' face, mingled with pure shock.

"DAD!" Rose yelled angrily. Josh lunged forward but Rose was too fast.

"PROTEGO!" she screeched. A shield expanded between father and son. She turned to her father her eyes shadowed and burning.

"Josh is _my_ brother. _Your _son. Just because he's a wolf at full moons doesn't mean he's a bad person. _You_ should know! You raised him didn't you? In fact it was probably _your_ fault that Josh was bitten! _You_ probably insulted Greyback yourself!" Rose was practically screaming. Mr Phillips stared at his daughter in shock. "And Dad you've _been_ through transformations, and you _know_ how painful they are. I visit Remus in the hospital wing after full moons. Just because he's done it lots of times doesn't make it _easy_!" She paused for breath and took a step back from her father, making her shoulder to shoulder with Remus. She was crying now. "You left me." She spat, "You put so much effort trying to protect me that you left me. With nothing! And then you complain when I find people who actually care about me? It's disgusting! And the worst thing is, you're right. It is dangerous for me to be around you! Have fun being alone!"

There was a long, painful silence in which Rose turned away from her father an silently removed the shield charm.

"I think I'm gonna go to Leila's for the night." She murmured to Josh. Josh nodded.

"I'll send your things to you." He replied. Rose kissed him on the cheek and stepped towards the fireplace. And with the words 'Potter Manor', she was gone.

Mr Phillips stared at the spot where his daughter had been moments before.

"You bastard." Josh hissed, not even looking. Mr Phillips stared at his son with a tortured expression.

"I better go." Remus said uncomfortably, Mr Phillips glared at him, "Err… see you some other time Josh, thanks for letting me stay." He turned to Rose's father, "It was nice meeting you sir."

And then he was gone.

**A.N- **_Lovely man, Robert Phillips, don't you think __grins fakely_

_I wasn't 100 happy with that chapter but I've spent so much time on it, I think I'll just leave it there._

_5 reviews tops Next Chapter: __**At the Potter's **__It's not going to be that exciting I'm afraid but still…_

_Thanks, Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	18. Chapter 18: At the Potter's

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Eighteen- At the Potter's**

Rose stumbled into the Potter's kitchen. A woman turned from the counter and saw her. Bewilderment blossomed on her face. She had pale skin, shoulder length, wavy blonde hair and clear hazel eyes that made Rose realise that this must be James' mother.

But Mrs Potter's bewilderment faded into concern as she saw the tears on Rose's cheeks,

"Whatever is the matter?" she asked, clearly worried. Rose shook her head and stepped out of the way of the fireplace, burying her face in her hands.

Just then, the fireplace glowed green and Remus stumbled forwards, almost falling. He straightened up and looked around the room. Mrs Potter's expression went back to bewilderment as she recognised him. He smiled apologetically and stepped towards Rose, pulling her into a strong embrace. Rose buried her head in his chest and heard Remus talking over her head.

"Hello Mrs Potter. Sorry for the trouble, we err… had an… unfortunate encounter."

"That's quite alright Remus," Mrs Potter's voice sounded like she had looked; kind and concerned, "…I'll just get James and Leila, maybe they can help."

"Thanks Mrs Potter." Said Remus, sounding immensely relieved.

Rose heard footsteps and sensed that she and Remus were alone, she lifted her head up and found herself staring into concerned blue eyes.

"Are you Ok?" Remus asked.

"I will be." She said softly, he hugged her and she placed her head on his shoulder. "Though I think I should be the one asking you."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." he murmured into her hair.

"I can't believe he said that stuff about you. I feel terrible."

"Don't… please don't…" Remus whispered, stroking her hair.

There was a brief minutes silence before…

"Aw! Aren't they sweet!"

"James!"

Remus let go of Rose and they turned around to see James and Sirius grinning as Leila glared at her cousin in a disapproving way. Lily was behind them, trying not to look amused but failing miserably.

Rose smiled warmly, happy to see some friendly faces Remus tried to smile…

Leila and Lily moved forwards to hug Rose who grinned at them. Remus said his hello's to the Marauders aswell before being engulfed by Leila who gave him a big bear hug.

"Ah! Help!" he gasped, Rose looked from him to the jealous look on Sirius' face and laughed, a pleasant, ringing sound that immediately made Remus crack a weak smile. But Leila wasn't smiling.

"I am so sorry about your parents." she whispered, ignoring her friend's laugh. Remus' smile immediately dissolved. Rose bit her lip. Did she have to bring that up?

_Of course she did, she knows exactly how he feels! He needs to come to terms with it._

"Don't be… there was nothing you could do about it." Remus mumbled. Leila gave him a stern, knowing look and Remus' eyes found the floor.

"No. But I'm still sorry." She said firmly. She turned to Rose. "So what are you two doing here?" Rose swallowed.

"Well… my dad showed up." She said quietly.

"Oh." Leila's expression fell from sympathetic to extremely concerned. Lily's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand. Sirius bit his lip and James ran a hand through his hair. Remus' gaze never left the floor.

"Yeah… And… Well… he had a go at Remus…" Rose continued, glancing at Remus.

"What did he say?" James asked, his eyes shining with a concern and shock that Rose had never seen James express.

"Um… well first he said some stuff to Josh about endangering me." Rose said, trying to keep tears down, "Then he said that Remus should be ashamed of himself and that-"

"Wait!" Remus interrupted, his head snapping up. He looked at Rose, then glanced at Lily and Leila.

"What?" Rose asked, confused. Remus jerked his head at the girls, James and Sirius seemed to have grasped what he was trying to say and were nodding. Rose was bewildered for a second before realisation hit her.

"They know," she said. James and Sirius frowned, Remus raised his eyebrows.

"No they don't." he said, evidently confused.

"Err… yeah actually we do Remus." Leila said. Remus turned to her in horror, James and Sirius stared at her and Lily in shock.

"How?" asked Sirius.

"Well, it was obvious once I figured out that James was lying to me about something." Leila shrugged. James blinked.

"Err… why don't you carry on Rose," Lily suggested. Rose cleared her throat and attention went back to her.

"Yeah, um… so Dad said that no one should live with a werewolf, because, and I quote 'look where your parents ended up'" Rose winced as she said it. Leila's eyes brightened with anger and Lily looked away. James stared at the floor with a strange, thoughtful expression and Sirius made a hissing sound. "Yeah, and then he said to Remus 'keep your filthy hands off my daughter'" Rose paused and blushed, Remus continued for her, regaining his speech.

"And then he said that if I _didn't_ keep my filthy hands off of his daughter then I'd be feeling even worse this full moon." Remus grimaced, " Err… so then he said that judging by the age of me I probably hadn't been bitten so long ago."

"Understatement there." Sirius muttered darkly.

"And he asked how many transformations I'd actually been through, so I said…" Remus stared at the ground once more. Rose took a deep breath and continued.

"One hundred and fifty three." She finished. Leila's eyes softened and the electric blue colour didn't look so much like live electricity. James and Lily exchanged sad glances and Sirius' fists unclenched. "And it's true."

"What did your dad say?" Leila asked softly. Remus stiffened.

"He said that that had given Remus plenty of time to practice biting." Rose said quietly.

Immediately Leila's eyes became live electricity once more, her hair seemed to crackle with it. James' eyes narrowed and he glared fiercely. Potter's were scary when they got angry…

Sirius made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded like a dog growling.

"But it's Ok." Remus said, everyone looked at him. "Rose had a go at him and Josh started to yell at him once Rose left. I… well… then I left too…" Rose reached for his hand and he pursed his lips.

There was a long silence.

"I can't believe that someone would say those things…" Lily said eventually.

"But they do." James said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him. "that's just life." Lily stared at him and Leila smiled slightly. Mrs Potter poked her head around the door.

"Remus and Rose, Your things have arrived. Joshua says he'll see you at the funeral tomorrow." She said.

Remus' heart sank… the funeral… just another part of the pain that was about to come.

For him at least.

**A.N- **_Ok, so this was incredibly short, and not very interesting, but I had to have some thing here. Just to fill in space between at Rose's house and the funeral. _

_Chapter 20- __**Thoughts**_


	19. Chapter 19: Thoughts

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Nineteen- Thoughts**

Leila conjured a mattress and duvet into her bedroom and put it down on the floor next to Lily's one. She sat down cross-legged on her own four poster bed and grinned at her friends.

"Sorry it's not much, it's all we have at the moment." She said cheerfully.

"That's Ok," Rose replied with a small smile, sitting on Leila's desk chair. Lily was lying on her back atop her mattress, eating bertie botts. All three of the girls were wearing pyjamas.

Leila's room was very light and calm. The hangings on her bed were almost transparent lilac and the walls were light blue. At the moment her bed was pushed up against the wall so there was room for the two mattresses. A door on the other side of the room led to the bathroom.

"Careful Lils, you'll get fat." Leila teased. Lily threw an dodgy looking brown bean at her and Leila caught it with her mouth.

"Ha! You just threw away a caramel!" she cried, chewing slowly. Lily scowled and Rose laughed.

"So Lily," Leila said conversationally, "When are you planning on admitting who you fancy?"

"What?" Lily snapped, grateful that there was a silencing charm on the door.

"I said-"

"I know what you said!"

"Ooo, getting touchy are we?" Rose teased, reaching into her bag to get some chocolate.

"Come on Lils, we already have a fair idea already, just tell us!" Leila sighed, "Oi! Rose, chuck us a piece!"

Rose threw a chunk of chocolate across the room.

"A fair ide- what!" Lily sat up straight and the chunk of chocolate hit her. Leila collapsed into giggles and Rose smiled. Lily moodily picked up the chocolate and ate it.

"Hey!" Leila said, mock angrily. Rose passed her another piece.

"Who do _you_ think it is?" Lily asked, looking nervous.

"Tell us who it really is and we'll tell you who we think it is. Right Leila?" Rose winked at Leila who gave Lily the Potter grin. Lily winced.

"Have you discussed it?" She asked suspiciously.

"Didn't need to" Leila said, biting into her chocolate.

"That obvious?" Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Stop sta-alling." Rose sang. Leila snickered. Lily glared, sighed and flopped back onto her mattress, eyes closed.

She mumbled something inaudible but Leila and Rose caught the jist of what she was saying.

"What was that Lily-flower?" Leila asked, using James' favourite nickname for Lily.

"Fine! James! There! I admitted it Ok? James, James, James!" Lily glared at her friends who were desperately trying not to laugh.

"Oh! James!" Leila said as if she had only just realised what Lily had said, "He's the one with the charming smile right?" she looked innocently at Lily, who stared back, her face stony, "Like this."

Leila's lips curved into a charming smile, the exact way James' did when he smiled at Lily. Lily never seemed to notice that she was the _only_ person he used it on.

She scowled and threw a pillow at Leila.

"Stop it! Stop that now Leila!" she snapped.

"Stop what?" Leila asked, the smile slipping away.

"You know what I'm talking about and it's not funny! I know he'll never feel the same way." Lily sniffed and turned away.

Leila and Rose traded looks, Leila's first impulse was to laugh, but luckily, she didn't.

"Lily, you don't know that." Rose said gently.

"Yeah I do. He used to annoy the hell out of me, and he was always immature and annoying and _always_ asking me out… but then he grew up. But when I finally realised that maybe he wasn't such a prat he stopped asking me out. And now I'm just a friend." Lily sighed.

Leila shook her head.

"Lils, he might not feel that way." She said calmly,

"Yea… right." Lily said sarcastically. Leila smiled and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Just… just hang in there, you'll find out soon enough!"

They were all silent for a little while before Rose spoke

"We should get to sleep… it's the funeral tomorrow."

Lily sighed,

"Poor Remus," Leila said, slipping under her covers.

"Mmmm, but I suppose he's not the only one of us to lose parents." Lily said sadly. Rose nodded, Leila frowned.

"You know, that's kind of weird." She said, sitting up and propping up her pillows.

"What is?" Rose asked.

"Out of us 8 seventh year Gryffindors, 4 of us have lost family to death eaters." Leila replied, "I lost my dad, Remus lost his parents, Rose, you lost your mother and your father- for lack of a better word- abandoned you and Sirius' family practically are death eaters."

"But Jess and I are muggleborn so are parents don't really count as threats." Lily said, catching on to Leila's thoughts.

"So that leaves James and Peter." Leila finished.

"Hmm, maybe we're on to something. Maybe the death eaters are after our parents specifically." Rose said.

"Or maybe it's just a coincidence… loads of people are dying these days." Leila sighed sadly.

"Either way, we should tell your aunt and uncle. And the boys too." Lily added.

"But not tomorrow," Rose said firmly, "Remus will be tortured enough as it is."

"Of course." Leila replied, smiling understandingly.

"We'll tell them the day after tomorrow, and I'll talk to him first," Rose said as if talking to herself, "He should be feeling better that way."

"Well you would know." Leila mumbled, she flicked her wand and the lights in the room turned off.

"Excuse me?" Rose's voice came out of the darkness.

"Goodnight Lily." Leila yawned.

"Leila, what's that supposed to mean?" Rose asked. Leila could hear Lily's stifled giggles.

"Goodnight Rose."

Rose sighed dejectedly and flopped on to her pillow.

It wasn't until then that she realised how tired she was.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning Remus, Rose, Leila, Lily, Sirius, James, Tiberus and Catherine walked into a small cemetery on the outskirts of the village Remus used to live in, all of them clad in black. A few order members milled around, Leila didn't recognise half of them, but Remus seemed to, they smiled sympathetically at him as he walked past. She caught sight of some of her Aunt and Uncles friends and a few Hogwarts professors.

Everyone was just talking in hushed voices, waiting for the service to begin.

A man with tanned skin and a white scar on his face made his way towards them, Leila recognised him as Josh.

"Hey," He said quietly, Remus smiled at him, he hugged Rose and waved at Leila.

"Um, this is Mr and Mrs Potter, and my friends, James, Lily and Sirius." Rose told her brother.

"Hi." Said Josh, they all smiled. He turned back to Rose and Remus, "I'm so sorry about yesterday, I had no idea he was going to show up!"

"It's Ok Josh." Remus said, his voice was croaky, he had hardly spoken all day.

"Guys!" a voice called softly. Everyone turned to see Jess, Peter and a woman who must be Peter's mother coming towards them.

"Jess!" Lily hugged Jess.

"Wormtail?" James said, surprised, Peter turned to Remus.

"What, you thought we wouldn't come?"

Remus smiled at Peter, but this time, his smile reached his eyes.

Mrs Pettigrew was chatting softly to Aunt Catherine, she was a short, plump woman with sandy blonde, short hair and watery blue eyes. Leila frowned slightly.

"Jess, where's Peter's dad?" she asked, so quietly that only Jess and Lily could hear (Rose was over by the boys, holding Remus' hand comfortingly).

"Erm, he was killed by death eaters when Pete was 13, his mum's a squib. Why'd you ask?" Jess was frowning now. Leila exchanged a shocked glance with Lily.

"Err… I'll explain later, look we're starting." Leila pointed at a witch with frazzled brown hair, standing on a raised platform next to two open graves with polished wooden coffins next to them.

Remus squeezed Rose's hand and walked to the front with her, making a subtle hand gesture at James, who tugged Sirius and Peter forwards. Leila instinctively followed her cousin with Lily and Jess at her side so that the front row consisted of the 7th year Gryffindors.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here today to remember the lives of John and Kathy Lupin…" The frazzly haired witch began.

After the main part of the service and a short speech by Professor McGonagall (who had been surprisingly close to the Lupins), everyone was given a chance to say goodbye.

Out of Leila's little group, only Remus and Rose stepped forward, no one else really knew them.

Remus knelt beside the coffins and murmured words to them. Rose stood with tears in her eyes and watched him. Once Remus was done she crouched down and put a hand on one of the coffins.

"Thank you for being so good to him," she said softly, "And for bringing him to me."

She stepped away and held Remus as he cried, rubbing him his back gently.

The frazzly haired witch waited for everyone to finish their goodbyes before waving her wand. The coffins sank gracefully into their graves and filled up. A black gravestone appeared with golden lettering.

_Here Lies_

_John Lupin_

_October 6__th__ 1940- December 12__th__ 1977_

_Kathy Lupin_

_April 18__th__ 1940- December 12__th__ 1977_

_Beloved Parents and Friends_

Leila felt her own eyes watering and felt a hand take her own and squeeze it. Someone put their arm around her, she looked up to see James. But who was holding her hand?

She turned to Sirius, looking at the grave sadly. She smiled to herself and watched Lily in front of her. Peter hugged Jess and Leila nudged James forwards, he looked at her questioningly. She nodded at Lily.

Understanding passed across James' face, he walked up behind her and murmured something in her ear. She nodded, tears were sparkling in her emerald eyes, she let James rest a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Leila smiled at the two and without realising it, leant into the person holding her hand. Sirius seemed startled but put an arm round her timidly. She smiled, taking it as brotherly gesture but wishing it was more.

She was completely unaware of how much Sirius was wishing exactly the same thing…

**A.N- **_Phew, that was longer than I planned but I had to get the funeral done._

_Please review, I will love you forever if you do!_

_Next Chapter: __**21-**__**Strange**_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	20. Chapter 20: Strange

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty - Strange**

After the funeral everyone said goodbye to Peter, Jess and Mrs Pettigrew, and Rose went off to talk to Josh. Mr and Mrs Potter, Lily, Leila, Sirius and James left the cemetery and waited. Remus was staying by his parents' graves alone for a little while. Rose said not to bother him, he needed this time alone.

It was cold and the icy winters breeze was maximized by the dementors presence somewhere far away. Sirius wondered why they weren't here, a funeral would be the perfect place for them to pry on unhappiness. Not that it would be a good thing if they did. He decided to ask Mr Potter about it.

"We put up some enchantments, plus there are some patronus' flying around somewhere, enough to keep them away from here." Mr Potter replied. Sirius nodded and silence fell over the group once more.

In the distance was Remus, crouched over the gravestones, shaking. Rose was along the pathway from Sirius and the others, talking to Josh happily enough but occasionally glancing over at Remus. Mrs Potter was murmuring to Mr Potter, looking concerned. James was shuffling his feet, occasionally glancing up to stare at Lily. He was fidgeting and Sirius could tell he was bored, or at least cold.

Lily looked a bit spooky with her red hair hanging around her head, glistening with snow. Her green eyes stood out and the mixture of green and red stood out against her black outfit.

But Sirius wasn't paying much attention to Lily, he was staring at Leila and remembering the feel of her being beside him. She was looking concerned and biting her lip, wearing a long black coat and had her hands in her pockets. Her jet black hair was down and flapping across her face but the white day made her electric blue eyes seem dull and her pale skin look invisible. Her eyes flicked up and caught Sirius staring, he hurriedly looked away, unaware that she was now staring at him.

Rose had hugged her brother goodbye and was now coming towards them.

"I'm going to get Remus before he freezes." She said quietly before walking back into the graveyard.

Remus looked up as she came and allowed her to hold him for a little while before she gently led him to the group.

Mr Potter extracted a quill from his pocket, performed an odd little spell and held out the makeshift portkey.

They all put a finger on it, and with a sickening lurch, they were back at Potter Manor…

**X-x-X-x-X**

That night Sirius couldn't sleep. He silently slipped out of bed, glancing briefly over at the still form of James and the shivering form of Remus. He glanced up at the moon; it was almost full, only six days to go.

It was a bad time for Remus.

He took a deep breath and reached for a suitcase, lighting his wand and rummaging through it as quietly as he could in search of something to do. He went through a mess of text books and scraps of parchment until something bright caught his eye.

It was sticking out between his book bag and his robes and was glowing faintly blue. He tugged it out to find a series of short messages scrawled across it in his own hand-writing;

_Does that mean you love me too?_

_Does it?_

He frowned and searched the paper looking for- there, in the corner, glowing lightly in a way that told Sirius that this wasn't a joke.

But it had to be… it was one word written in Leila's small, neat and curly writing.

_Yes_

Sirius blinked. It must be a prank. A sick prank played by James or someone. And it wasn't funny.

Confused and annoyed, he slipped on a few layers of clothes, a coat and some shoes before creeping downstairs and quietly passing into the garden. He considered changing into Padfoot but didn't due to the dim light that was glimmering behind the closed curtains of the girls' bedroom.

It was a still night, and the stars were visible, lighting up the snow that was sprinkled across the ground.

He set off through the snow and walked around to the far side of the lake where he melted a patch of snow and sat down, staring down at the moon, reflected in the frozen depths. Thinking.

He stayed like that for a while, in silence, until…

"Knut for your thoughts."

Sirius jumped and twisted round, looking for the source of the whisper. It was Leila. She melted and dried a patch on the ground and sat down with him.

She was fully clothed in the outfit she'd worn to the funeral, her hair was in a loose ponytail and many strands were falling out around her face. She was smiling, and her electric blue eyes glittered with the stars.

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"A knut?" he asked, Leila grinned.

"Fine. Two knuts."

"_Two_ knuts?"

"Fine. A sickle."

"A sickle?"

"A galleon?" Leila offered hopefully.

"A _galleon?_" Sirius smirked and looked out across the lake.

"Well what do you want me to give you?" Leila asked mock-haughtily.

"Nothing. My thoughts aren't worth anything." Sirius replied quietly. Leila went silent and looked across the lake where he was looking.

"They're priceless to me." She whispered eventually.

Sirius turned to look a her. She was fixing him with a strong gaze. Her eyes were crackling and wide. Sirius was suddenly hit with a strong urge to kiss her.

He sighed.

"I was thinking about Moony." He said, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from her. She looked out across the lake again.

"I feel for him." She agreed softly.

"I sometimes wonder what it would be like to lose someone who's related to you." He said, staring into his lap, Leila turned her gaze back to him. He could feel the electric blue eyes boring into his skull. "I mean, not that I think that it would be a good experience or anything, it's just… I never knew what it's like to feel for my family. Sure I feel sorry for Andy, being kicked out and all, but I also envy her for being able to escape so easily. And I just… want a family that cares, a family that's actually related to me by blood. Not just friendship like you and Prongs and everyone else."

He had no idea why he was telling Leila all of this but she seemed to understand. He felt her hand on top of his.

"You'll find them." Leila whispered. Sirius had no idea what she meant but it seemed to reassure him.

"Your hand is cold." He said softly after another period of silence.

"That's because it's December and we're outside in the middle of the night," she replied, just as softly. Sirius snorted with laughter. She smiled. "Lily and I were thinking, about all of our parents." Sirius stopped laughing and looked at her, she just stared across the lake again. "Lily and Jess are muggleborn, and Peter's mum is a squib." She paused, Sirius continued to gaze at her, "My dad, Peter's dad, Rose's mum and Remus' parents. They were all killed by death eaters. What if they're… linked?"

Silence.

"I… I don't know… but… maybe they're after something." Sirius said eventually.

"That's what I thought, it's strange…"

"Yea… strange." Sirius bit his lip, "You don't think it could be my family do you?" Leila twisted around to look at him, his eyes were nervous and guilty.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"W-what if my family are trying to get to my friends because they're angry about me leaving?" the anxiety in Sirius' voice was rising. Leila's grip on his hand tightened.

"This isn't your fault Sirius." She said firmly. And for some reason. He believed her.

Once more, they fell into silence.

After a while Leila shivered.

"You should go, you'll catch a cold." Sirius told her.

"What about you?"

"I'll come in a second. You go."

"Ok then. Goodnight Sirius." She squeezed his hand once more, smiled at him, then stood to leave.

Sirius watched her slim figure walk away. She was so beautiful…

Suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know… just to ask. He didn't even need an answer. He sprang up and began to run after her…

"Leila wait!"

He saw her stop, and turn, saw her eyes glow with curiosity. He ran faster and finally skidded to a halt in front of her, gasping for air.

"Yes?" she asked in barely more than a whisper.

"I- I just- well- I- I just wanted," he looked down and shook his hair out his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried again, but when he looked up he was trapped under the spell of those big, electric blue eyes, gazing at him. "I- I just- I needed to- to tell you- tell you- th-that- Argh! Why is this so hard with you?!" He bent over, ran one hand through his hair and stumbled forward a step in frustration.

When he straightened up he found himself inches from Leila's face. He froze.

Her eyes were locked onto his, wide and nervous.

"W-what's hard?" she asked, her voice cracking. Sirius swayed slightly on the spot.

His hand gently brushed hers, sending an electric shock straight up his spine and causing him to lose all self control.

"Th-This…" he said softly, and before he knew it he was kissing her. And she was kissing back.

One of his arms hooked under hers and he put his spare hand on her cheek. Her hands went round his neck as he deepened the kiss. She smelt like cinnamon. He pulled her closer and his hand slid from her cheek up into her soft, silky hair, gently combing it out of it's ponytail.

He gently drew back, they both gasped for breath. He kept his arms around her and stared once more into her amazing eyes.

"Strange," she murmured, her sweet breath tickling Sirius's cheek, "It didn't seem hard."

**A.N- **_I expect lots of reviews. And that's all I'm saying._

_Next Chapter: __**About time! **_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	21. Chapter 21: About Time

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty-Two- About Time!**

Leila walked back up to her bedroom in a dreamlike state. She opened her door and walked in to find the light on and Lily and Rose sitting up in their beds with smug expressions on their faces.

She was a little unnerved by their expressions but nevertheless hung her coat on the back of her door and kicked off her shoes without saying anything.

"What?" she asked them eventually.

"Nothing." Lily said in the tone of a young child eager to hear a secret that they think they already know.

"Ok then." Leila grinned and shook her head. Lily and Rose remained sitting up and looking at her expectantly. Leila disappeared into her ensuite, returning later in her pyjamas and slipping into bed. She had no idea that she was beaming like an idiot.

"Um, Leila?" Lily asked. Leila sat up in her bed,

"Yes Lils."

"You know that hair tie you were wearing today?"

Leila raised an eyebrow,

"Yes."

"Where is it?"

Leila was catching on now. She beamed.

"I have absolutely no idea! Why?"

"Because you left the room wearing it and now you're not."

Leila grinned.

"Really. I wasn't aware!"

"Well-"

"Oh for Merlin's sake Leila! Just tell us what happened!" Rose snapped. Leila grinned.

"Sirius kissed me!"

Lil and Rose squealed and there was lots of excited gossiping until they finally settled down.

The last words any of them spoke before they fell asleep were said by Leila to Lily.

"Maybe you and James should go for a walk one night…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sirius closed the door as quietly as he could, but it was no use. James was awake.

"Hello." He said with a smirk lingering on his face. Sirius grimaced. He'd have to tell him. And he might as well get it over with.

"I kissed Leila."

James blinked. Once, twice, three times. His face split into a wide grin.

"You finally got the guts to kiss my cousin?" he said, looking not in the slightest angry or annoyed.

"Err… yea." Sirius was slightly taken aback at James' ease with the situation, as though he'd expected it.

"Good for you. We should get some sleep. We might wake Moony."

Sirius frowned, shook his head disbelievingly and collapsed onto his bed.

"Oh, but Sirius?"

"Yea Prongs."

"About Leila. If you hurt her in any way, you're dead."

"Don't worry. I'd never hurt her… Ever."

"Ok. Night Sirius."

"Night Prongs"

Sirius closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, but once he was thinking about James, it led him to thinking about Leila, and the feel of her in his arms.

He couldn't wait for the morning.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, the girls walked into the kitchen to find the boys stuffing their faces with Mrs Potter's delicious cooking.

Rose automatically sat next to Remus who looked up briefly and smiled at her. Lily gave Leila a significant look before sitting in the chair that was not next to Sirius.

Leila's cheeks went the palest shade of pink. Rose and Lily smiled. James smirked, earning a look from Sirius. Remus looked around, puzzled.

Leila sat down next to Sirius, smiled at him and subtly shifted her chair closer to him. She then helped herself to eggs.

Her smile widened as she felt Sirius' foot gently rub against hers.

"Um… am I missing something?" Remus asked. Lily and James couldn't help it and exploded into laughter. Rose smiled and leant over to whisper something into Remus' ear and his eyes widened.

"Oh…" he went back to his breakfast but added under his breath "About time too."

James heard and sniggered. Leila and Sirius exchanged glances before continuing to eat, smiling.

After breakfast everyone went to the living room. Remus and Rose disappeared without an excuse. James glanced nervously at Lily before announcing that he should go and do some homework.

"Oh, we could work on that thing that Dumbledore suggested." Lily said. Leila assumed she was talking about a head girl/boy job. James agreed with Lily and blushed slightly as he and Lily left the room together.

"Subtle." Leila muttered once they'd gone. Sirius grinned.

"Do you mind?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

"Not at all." Leila grinned. Sirius slid an arm around her and pulled her closer to him, she put both arms around his neck and let him reach for her hair before their lips met.

The kiss was more passionate and heated than the night before. Sirius wasn't so unsure about whether she'd reject him and Leila wasn't quite so stunned.

When they broke apart, Sirius smiled, his eyes were closed.

"Leila." He whispered in Leila's ear. "Will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"

Leila pressed her forehead to his, breathing in his scent before answering,

"Yes."

Then Sirius drew her into another kiss.

It was going to be a great holiday.

**A.N- sorry for the delay. It's been show week for the school musical which I am in… I'm reeeeally tired**

**Please review**

**Toff.x**


	22. Chapter 22: Friends?

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own anything except for Leila, Rose, Jess and the plot!**

**Chapter Twenty Two- ****Friends??**

Five days later, Lily sat in the Potter's library looking over a list written on a piece of parchment. James was drawing up a plan on another. Lily stopped looking at the list and turned her attention to James.

His hair was messier than usual (how Lily could tell she did not know) and his fringe was almost in his eyes.

His eyes. The clear hazel eyes followed his quill and were small with concentration. He was biting his lip and every now and then he messed his hair up even more.

"Ha! Finished!" he cried suddenly, throwing down his quill. Lily jumped slightly as James looked up at her, his eyes shining in triumph.

She blinked stupidly at him and he grinned at her, which made it worse.

Lily hated his grin. Actually she loved it. Which was what made it so irritating.

It was the perfect grin, but she couldn't have it.

So she smiled at him sadly and went back to her work.

**X-x-X**

James threw down his quill in triumph and noticed that Lily had been watching him.

She blinked at him; her emerald eyes were shining innocently. It was adorable.

James grinned, partly at her, and partly to himself. She smiled at him. He loved her smile. It made her eyes sparkle in a way even Dumbledore's couldn't.

She turned back to her work and James sighed. Would he ever win the heart of Lily Evans? It used to be the focus of his life (that and pranking Snape), but she was never interested. He had been annoyed back then, but back then it had been a crush.

Now they were close to best friends and he was madly in love.

And she still wasn't interested.

"We need a date!" Lily announced. James' head snapped up.

"What?"

"A date." Lily said, "For this." She waved her list in front of her.

Part relief, part disappointment flowed through James, he smiled.

"Oh, right, erm… how about… The last Sunday of term?" he suggested.

"Ok." Lily looked slyly at him, "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing… err, does this look Ok?" James showed Lily his plan. Lily looked at him with an unreadable expression before telling him that it was great and going back to her list

**X-x-X-x-X**

Meanwhile, Remus, Rose, Leila and Sirius were lounging about in the Potter's living room. Tonight was the night of the full moon.

Sirius was lying on the couch and Leila was on the floor with her head resting against the couch Sirius was on. She was reading a book and Sirius was watching her with a dreamy look on his face that clearly said 'when did I get this lucky?'

Remus was also lying on a couch, but he wasn't watching anyone. His skin was a sickly shade of grey, his breathing was uneven and shaky and his eyes were closed. Every now and then he would twitch uncomfortably or whimper quietly in his sleep. Rose was sitting on an armchair that was sitting directly next to the end of Remus' couch; she was trying to do her homework but kept glancing worriedly at Remus.

There was a light knock on the door and Mr Potter came in. Leila, Sirius and Rose looked up. Remus stirred in his sleep.

"How is he?" Mr Potter asked, nodding at Remus.

"Unwell." Rose replied quietly. Mr Potter nodded.

"I was going to explain the arrangements for tonight." He said. "But since he's asleep…"

"We can tell him when he wakes up." Sirius said, Rose and Leila knew that he needed to know the plans too, so he and James could help. But Mr Potter didn't know about Sirius and James being animagi, so he didn't know this. He did however know how close Sirius and James were to Remus.

"Ok then. We're going to set up a protective circle in the forest, no one will be able to get in or out after moonrise." Mr Potter explained.

"No one?" Sirius asked,

"Well no humans." Mr Potter grinned the Potter grin, "I'm going to find James." He left the room and as the door clicked shut, Remus woke up. He sat upright and swung his legs onto the floor.

"Wha- ah!" his hand went to his head and his other arm clutched his stomach. Rose jumped up and moved to sit next to him, putting an arm round his shoulders.

"You Ok Moony?" Sirius asked softly, sitting up himself.

"Not really." Remus croaked, managing a weak smile.

"Come on Sirius," Leila said quietly, noticing the look on Rose's face. "We should go."

Sirius nodded, took Leila's hand and helped her up. Rose watched them leave. Remus turned to Rose and blinked in surprise.

She was extremely pale and looked scared to death.

"Rose?" he asked. She turned her brown eyes to him, they were plagued with worry. "Are you Ok?"

"I… yea, of course." She tried to smile but it didn't reach her eyes. "You need rest, you should lay down."

"Rose." Remus insisted, taking her hand, "What's wrong?"

"I… nothing!" Rose was looking even more worried now which was making Remus guilty.

"Rose." Remus looked at her, and she stared back. There was a long pause before Rose pressed her lips together.

"I… I'm worried about you." She said, her voice cracked slightly. Remus frowned. He could tell she wasn't lying. "An-and I'm scared for you." She added. Remus just looked at her, he wanted to ask why but knew that that was a stupid question. She took a deep breath and carried on talking.

"When you were asleep. You kept shaking and murmuring and… it's just… I can tell you're in pain… and I… well… _One hundred and fifty three._ Of this… and that's how it's always going to be… and I can't do anything to help." Tears were appearing in Rose's eyes. Remus hugged her, ignoring the pain in his shoulders. He stroked her hair.

"Rose, you are helping." He said softly,

"But you're in pain…" she said shakily, on the verge of tears.

"I'm always in pain on full moons… you've just never been with me the whole time. It's always different when I'm staying in the hospital wing at school because I have Madame Pomphrey to look after me." Remus drew back so he could see Rose's face.

"But what about Josh?" she asked in barely more than a whisper, "a-and Dad?"

"They're like me… except your dad might feel it worse 'coz he's been bitten more recently. Dumbledore helps them out too… I'm not sure how." Remus took both of Rose's hands and rubbed his thumbs down them. Rose took another deep breath and tried to smile.

"Is there anything that can stop it?" she asked in a small voice.

"No," Remus said softly, "But there's something that helps." Rose looked at him quizzically. "Friends." Rose smiled. And this time, it reached her eyes.

**A.N- **_Sorry for the delay. And the tinyness of this chapter!_

_How about two chapters next week?? I have my exams tomorrow so I've been focused more on study than fanfic. But by Friday all exams will be over and I can do whatever I want until next year! YAY!!_

_Stay Tuned: Next __**Chapter 23- Christmas Day**_

_And __**Chapter 24- The next day.**_

_Not very interesting chapter names but there will be a party and a prank and PRESENTS!!!_

_Review please, luv Toff.x_


	23. Chapter 23: Christmas Day

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Four- Christmas Day**

Leila woke early on Christmas day like she always did and immediately thought 'I have to wake Dad'.

This thought disappeared immediately and she tried not to think about it.

She sat up to find Lily was already awake,

"Hey Lils."

"Hi! Happy Christmas!" she said brightly, a bit too brightly as she woke Rose up.

"Mmm, no… shut up." Rose groaned. Leila laughed.

"Merry Christmas to you too!" she chuckled. Rose sleepily grabbed a pillow and randomly threw it.

"Missed." Lily said chirpily, Rose groaned again and sat up.

"I hate early mornings."

"I figured." Leila smiled, "Anyway, I'm going to open my presents!" she turned her attention to her presents and picked up a box which turned out to be chocolate frogs from Remus.

Lily turned to her presents, she picked out the smallest parcel and read the tag aloud,

"_To Lily-Flower,_

_I promise that will be the last time I ever call you that,_

_Happy Christmas_

_James,_"

Leila and Rose traded grins as Lily stared at the note.

"Are you gonna open it?" Leila asked. Lily glared at her and carefully unwrapped the parcel to find a deep blue box. She pried it open and gasped.

It was a golden chain with an emerald pendant.

"Wow, impressive," Rose said, smiling. Leila grinned.

"When we were in Hogsmeade, Lily said she liked it but she didn't have enough money on her." She turned to Lily, "You know when we were in honeydukes and he said he was going to Zonko's. Guess where he really was?"

"Seriously?" Lily stared at the necklace and put it on.

"It highlights your eyes." Said Rose.

"That's what James said!" Leila laughed, Lily blinked down at the necklace.

"I thought he was joking." She said quietly. Leila almost scoffed but stopped herself.

"What did you get him?" Rose asked,

"One of those broomstick servicing kits..." Lily replied absently.

"Really? But they're like… very nice." Leila finished lamely after the glower Lily had sent her way.

She turned to her pile again and looked for the one from Sirius. She read the note to herself,

**To Leila,**

**Hmm… I really don't know what to say,**

**Happy Christmas?**

**Hope the present's Ok,**

**Love Sirius.**

Love Sirius. It sounded good. Leila smiled and opened the package.

It was a bracelet which magically moulded itself around your wrist and it must have cost a fortune.

It was silver (she made a resolution to keep it away from Remus) and had a sapphire coloured pattern carved onto it. She smiled and tried it on, it moulded on to her wrist and actually looked really nice.

"What's that?" asked Lily, leaning over, Leila showed her the bracelet. "Wow," Lily's voice was soft, "That's really nice." Rose would have been looking at it too but she was immersed in a tiny locket that had a silver crescent embedded on it.

"Is that from Remus?" Leila asked, looking up. Rose nodded silently. She didn't open it but quietly put it round her neck, smiling, before going back to her presents.

Leila looked down at her bracelet once more, slipped the note into her pocket and did the same.

…

Remus was woken by something wet on his elbow.

"Argh! What the-?" He sat bolt upright to see a large black dog, wagging its tail proudly. "Padfoot. I think I hate you."

"I _know_ I hate him," said James' voice from his bed. Padfoot growled and changed into Sirius who was scowling.

"Yeah, well not everyone hates me!" he said indignantly,

"Really?" Remus asked, sitting up and reaching for a package.

"Name one person." James challenged.

"Leila." Sirius said immediately.

"She's your girlfriend. She doesn't count."

"Fine. Peter."

"Pete would side with us any day."

"_Fine_. Lily."

Remus choked on the liquorice wand he'd just bitten into. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"What? Lily and me are tight." He protested.

"Holy crap!" said James. Sirius sighed and turned around.

"Oh come on it's not that surprising is it? Holy crap is that a broomstick servicing kit?" he leapt over to James' bed to look at the wooden box he was holding.

"Who's it from?" Remus asked curiously.

"Lily." James said in awe.

"What did she sell her house or something? Those things cost a fortune!" Sirius gaped, Remus went to throw a pillow at him, "Hey! I was kidding! Geez… some people!"

"What'd Leila get you Pads?" Remus asked. Sirius grinned and bounded across the room to retrieve something from his bed.

"This," he held up a live, palm sized model of a black dog. It barked at Remus, "Oh, and some money. She said it was to help me save up for that motorbike."

"Why can't he get a car to magically modify like regular people?" James muttered. The model dog growled at him.

Just then he opened a package which exploded into confetti, ripped Christmas wrappings and other bits of paper.

Sirius and Remus roared with laughter. James blinked several times and spat out a piece of parchment, confetti was littered through his hair. Remus picked up the note that had come with the package (which was sitting- still wrapped- innocently on the bed still).

"_Hey Cuz,_

_What you think I'd neglect the traditional Christmas Prank?_

_There's a real present in the package._

_Happy Christmas_

_Leila_

"Wow, you have a traditional Christmas Prank? We never saw that at school." Remus commented.

"She only did it when we were staying in the same house." James said, brushing parchment off his bed. Sirius was eyeing the package curiously. James opened it and a box of Italian sweets fell out. "Yes! I love these!" he grinned.

Suddenly an ear-splitting scream echoed around the house. James' eyes widened.

"That's Leila!"

Sirius was out of the room before Remus could interpret what James had just said. He ran out of the room with James and saw Leila standing in her bedroom doorway, completely soaked.

Sirius was standing there watching her, James cracked up. Remus couldn't help but smile. Rose and Lily bit their lips from behind Leila who turned, shivering to James. Sirius did the same (without the shivering of course).

"P-p-p-p-p" James took a deep breath before trying again, "Padfoot's face!" he cracked up again. Leila put her hands on her hips and turned to Sirius inquisitively.

"You were screaming, I was worried." Sirius said innocently. Lily made a strangled sound and disappeared back into Leila's room to hide her laughter, Rose frowned at her. Leila smiled at Sirius.

"I'm touched, and don't worry, we'll get him back." She kissed her boyfriend on the cheek before turning to her cousin. "You know that was a good prank." She said. James nodded, tears of laughter in his eyes. "And it's Christmas… so you deserve a hug!" And before James knew it Leila was hugging him, covering him in water. He kept laughing and patted him on the back.

"I think he's drunk." Leila told everyone over his shoulder. Lily experimentally stuck a hand out of the bedroom. Apparently the charm only worked for Leila. Remus assumed that Mr and Mrs Potter had expected this as they weren't bothered by their niece's scream.

Leila took out her wand and dried herself. James did the same and sighed happily. They all made their way downstairs. Leila and Sirius stayed behind for a little bit. No one even bothered to ask what they were doing, but when they joined the group downstairs, they were both a little red-faced and flustered.

Breakfast had been all set out on the table with charms on the food so it would stay the right temperature. Everyone began to help themselves.

"Your mum is an amazing cook, why are you three so thin?" Lily asked Sirius, Leila and James.

"Quidditch." They all replied at the exact same time, Sirius started to laugh, mostly at the way Lily had blinked at them.

"So Lily, Sirius here tells us that you and him are 'tight'." James said casually. Sirius went very slightly pink and smiled hopefully at Lily. Leila grinned challengingly at her and she looked at Sirius, surprised.

"Err… sure we are." Lily said, only just managing to sound un-sarcastic. James swore and Sirius grinned triumphantly.

"But you never talk!" Remus cried. Lily shrugged,

"She talks to you and James. And James talks to me about her." Sirius pointed out, Lily went pink.

"Yea, and I talk to Lily about Sirius!" Leila added.

"You do?" Sirius asked happily. Leila smiled flirtatiously and James groaned.

"Urgh! Yuck!"

"How come you talk about me?" Lily asked.

"There's lots to talk about!" James grinned back cheekily. Lily blushed again and the others laughed at her.

The rest of the day was surprisingly normal. Lily spent some time hanging out with Sirius and found out that she really did get along with him quite well. Remus and Rose managed to forget their troubles and enjoy the special occasion, along with a silly game of truth and dare. Leila and James amused everyone by having a miniature duel in the snow outside and Remus, Rose and Leila almost won a quidditch game against Lily, James and Sirius.

Almost.

**A.N- **_Long? Not really? Ah well, looking forward to the Christmas Party? I am! There will be dancing! Lots of dancing! …._


	24. Chapter 24: The Next Day

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Four- The next day!!**

There was a knock on the door. James leapt up immediately to get it and sprinted out of the living room.

Sirius had his arm around Leila whose head was resting on his collarbone. They were watching Rose and Remus play chess. Lily and James had been sitting awkwardly on the couch, next to each other. They were all dressed for the party. It was about 5.45pm and they were all somewhat bored.

"Hey Josh!" Leila heard James exclaim happily. Rose looked up from the chessboard. "You're the first party guest so there's not much going on right now but Rose is in here if you want to talk to her." James' voice could be heard getting closer to the living room.

Rose quickly ordered her knight to E5 before standing to greet her brother with a hug as he came into the room.

"Hey guys." Josh said over Rose's shoulder. Everyone said hi to Josh except Remus who moved a piece on the board and yelled 'Ha! Checkmate!'

"Err… yea. Hi Remus." Josh said after the brief silence that followed Remus' little announcement.

The doorbell rang again. It was some family friends of the Potter's who made a fuss over Leila because they hadn't seen her in a few years. Josh had disappeared to talk to Mr and Mrs Potter and a few other guests.

But a few guests later Jess and Peter had arrived.

Leila had answered the door and gave a cry of delight before hugging Jess.

"Jess and Pete are here!" She announced, bringing the two into the living room. Lily squealed happily and hugged Jess as Remus, Sirius and James rose to greet Peter.

"So did anything important happen over the holidays?" Jess asked, taking a seat on the Potter's couch next to Lily and letting Peter squeeze in beside her.

"Not really," Leila said airily. She sat down on the couch again and let Sirius put an arm her. She put her head on his collarbone and he absentmindedly stroked her hair for a while.

Jess and Peter watched with raised eyebrows for a little while before Leila said, "Oh yea, me and Sirius are going out!"

Everyone laughed and Sirius kissed the top of Leila's head.

"Ok everyone! Party's starting!" came the voice of Aunt Catherine from the big room next door that Lily said reminded her of a miniature Great Hall.

There was a lot of laughing, milling around and eating food at the circular tables that had been set out and the Marauders and the girls got a chance to catch up with (or be introduced to in Leila's case) some friends who left Hogwarts the previous year, like Alice and her boyfriend Frank Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon and her boyfriend Fabian Prewett. But finally the lights dimmed and the music became louder.

"Dancing!" Jess exclaimed. Lily bit her lip, but Rose and Leila beamed.

"Wanna dance?" Sirius asked Leila. Leila nodded and the couple had disappeared in no time. Peter shyly asked Jess to dance and they left a bit slower leaving Rose, Remus, Lily and James.

Rose and Remus exchanged glances and silently decided to stay put for a moment. Lily was staring intently at the ground and James kept shooting nervous glances at her between watching Sirius and Leila.

The music was fast at the moment and the two marauder couples already dancing seemed to be having loads of fun.

Jess was teaching Peter silly muggle dance moves such as the can-can and the chicken dance. Leila and Sirius were laughing and telling jokes while normally.

"Hey James, who's that?" Rose asked suddenly, pointing across the dance floor to where Josh was talking with a girl about his age with startlingly blonde hair and friendly blue eyes.

"Oh, that's Samantha. I think she's like, my second cousin two times removed's sister-in-law." James replied dismissively. Lily snorted with laughter.

"And how would you even know that?" She asked, "I don't know if I even have a second cousin any times removed!"

"When you're a pureblood in the wizarding world, you pick up on these things." James shrugged. "Ask Sirius, he could probably give you the name of his cousin's, brother's, girlfriend's, uncle's daughter- or something like that!"

"I'll keep that in mind." Lily mumbled. Rose was watching Samantha again. She was laughing at a joke Josh had just told her.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Rose asked Remus.

"Nope." Remus said as Samantha accepted a drink from Josh.

"Do you think she'd mind?" Rose asked very quietly. Remus shrugged.

"If you're talking about lycanthropy then no. Samantha's Grandad was a werewolf from the age of three. Sam loved her Grandad. Never met him myself." James said. Lily shook her head at him as Josh asked Samantha to dance. Samantha nodded just as the song changed to a slow one. Samantha smiled flirtatiously and put her arms round Josh's neck.

"Let's dance." Said Remus. Rose snapped out of her trance and followed Remus onto the dance floor, leaving Lily and James alone at their table.

It was a really pretty song playing. Leila was pressed right up against Sirius with her head on his shoulder.

Lily drank a mouthful of her drink and choked slightly. She set her drink down for a second and coughed a few times. Normally, James would have patted her on the back and asked if she was Ok, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it right now. Lily pursed her lips and laid back into her chair.

"Hey James, how does your family know Fabian Prewett?" Lily asked about halfway through the song. James snapped his eyes away from the way the light had played with Lily's hair and looked towards the guy standing alone on the other side of the room.

"Erm… Well, they're family friends but I don't know them very well. We don't see them often 'coz they normally come with their Aunt Muriel and she is…" James cut off as he saw that Fabian was walking towards them, eyes trained on Lily who stared awkwardly back. James glared.

Didn't he have a girlfriend??

"Hey Lils, come dance." James said suddenly. Lily's head whipped around to face him. He stood up, took her hand and tugged her towards the dance floor. Lily looked surprised but vaguely pleased.

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Fabian smirk and walk to the other side of the dance floor where Marlene McKinnon was waiting for him. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously but was distracted by Lily's hair which, he noticed, smelt really nice.

**X-x-X-x-X**

As the song was nearing the end she spotted Alice nearby and caught her eye. 'Told you' Alice mouthed. Lily glanced at James. He was staring at her but looked away as soon as she turned to look. Alice smirked and Lily blushed. The song ended.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila opened her eyes as the song ended and Sirius bent down slightly to kiss her tenderly.

When the broke apart and the new song started, Fabian and Marlene turned up next to them.

"Did'ja do it?" Sirius asked. Fabian grinned.

"You should have seen the look on James' face when he saw me looking at Lily. I don't think he'll ever talk to me again!" He said, nodding to where Lily and James were dancing. They weren't incredibly close and there was a certain level of awkwardness but still…

As Fabian and Marlene moved away and Lily and James separated and left the dance floor to get drinks, Sirius pulled Leila closer again and said amusedly in her ear.

"And they thought we were bad."

**A.N- **_Well, that took a while. I'm so glad my exams are over… school musical, not so much, that was fun. But either way, I have more time to write now!!! Did you like Christmas with the Potter's???_

_And guess what? I just finished 'Twilight'! I'd been trying to get round to reading it and I've finally found the time! I can't wait to see the movie!!!_

_Anywho, next Chapter: Back To School_

_Read and Review!_

_Toff.x _


	25. Chapter 25: Back to School

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Five- Back To School**

_Early February 1977_

Leila packed up her things, slipping her silver bracelet on and a gold necklace Aunt Catherine and Uncle Tiberus had given her for Christmas. She looked over at Lily who was staring down at the necklace James had given her. Rose had already packed and was eating a liquorice wand, sitting on Leila's desk chair, lost in her thoughts.

"Lils?" Leila asked softly. Lily hurriedly stuffed the necklace in her pocket and carried on packing. Leila sighed and turned to Rose.

"Rose?" She asked. Rose looked up. "You Ok?" Rose's smiled warmly.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just thinking about Josh"

Leila nodded. They all knew that Josh was currently dating Samantha. They didn't know if Sam knew that Josh was a werewolf.

"Ok then. We should go downstairs. The boys will be waiting." Leila announced. Lily nodded and Rose picked up her things.

The three girls made their way downstairs. The boys were indeed waiting, sitting around the kitchen table. James and Remus were talking about the ministry and sharing a large chocolate bar. Sirius had his chin resting on his arms which were folded on top of the table, he was watching his model dog walk around on top of the table. Leila grinned at him. He wasn't facing her but turned around and grinned back. Lily sighed which made James look up. He grinned, Lily almost winced.

Uncle Tiberus came into the room.

"Ok, the car's all ready to go. Catherine's not coming but I will be. I have to go to the ministry once you've gone." He announced. The 6 teenagers agreed and followed Uncle Tiberus to the front of the house. The weather was horrible, the snow had turned to slush and it was pouring with rain.

Leila and James both hugged Aunt Catherine and Aunt Catherine hugged Sirius and Remus and said goodbye to Rose and Lily.

And they rode to King's Cross station in almost silence. Leila was next to Sirius this time and Leila was almost falling asleep on top of Sirius. Rose and Remus sat together, talking quietly in the middle of the widened car. That left Lily and James squashed together on the other side. They sat in verging-on-awkward silence.

"Ok, I'll see you at Easter then?" Uncle Tiberus asked once they were all ready to leave at Platform 9 and 3/4 . He seemed sad and worried.

"Yea. Seeya Dad!" James gave his father a quick hug and drew back to wait for the others. Leila frowned at Uncle Tiberus, seeing the worry on his face, but he just flashed her a half-hearted version of the Potter grin. Leila sighed and hugged her Uncle.

"Bye Uncle Tiberus. Love you." She said quietly. Uncle Tiberus smiled.

"Yea. I'll see you soon. You be careful, and keep an eye out" He said. Leila looked up at him seriously and nodded. She hung back with James and waited for the others.

The 6 of them climbed onto the train, Leila looked over her shoulder and waved at Uncle Tiberus. The train started moving, they hadn't found a compartment yet. Leila waved at her Uncle as he slowly faded out of sight.

Leila felt someone take her hand, she looked up to see Sirius smiling encouragingly. She smiled back, feeling a bit better.

"Come on guys let's find a compartment!" James said cheerfully.

"We have a meeting." Lily said.

"In 15 minutes, it's later this term." James said dismissively. Lily shook her head in disbelief.

"You remember everything!" She said incredulously. James grinned mischievously. "Oh, that reminds me. Sirius, do you know the name of your cousin's, brother's, girlfriend's uncle's, daughter?" Sirius thought for a moment.

"Err… Sasha McKinnon I'm pretty sure." He answered as they all made their way down the train in search of a compartment.

"Really?" Rose asked, surprised.

"Yup. Coz my only cousin who has a brother whose brother has a girlfriend would be Molly Prewett who essentially is only my cousin by marriage but still, though she's actually Molly Weasley now. And her brother is Fabian and Fabian's girlfriend is Marlene, and Marlene's uncle's daughter would be her cousin so that's Sasha from Hufflepuff isn't it?" Sirius grinned. Lily looked bewildered and nodded. James smirked.

"Told you." He chuckled. A door from a few compartments behind them opened and Jess's head popped out.

"Anyone care to join us?" She asked. The 6 others crowded into the compartment and Leila grinned as Peter announced that he'd come up with an idea for a prank. Sirius declared the idea genius and he, Peter and Remus discussed it in depth while James and Lily headed off to their meeting and Rose and Jess started up a conversation about their holidays. Leila smiled, she forgot about the worried expression on Uncle Tiberus' face.

Everything would be fine.

**A.N-** _Err…__actually I really don't have that much to say. Sorry, this chapter is ridiculously short I know! The next one will be good though and will be posted next Friday I promise!! It's called…__** Old Enemies**_

_Oh and one more thing! I've recently become a beta reader so if anyone wants help with their stories, I'd be happy to help!!!_

_Please Review_

_Toff.x_


	26. Chapter 26: Old Enemies

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Six- Old Enemies**

Leila stepped off the train, pretending she hadn't noticed the group of giggling girls making their way over to Sirius.

In their defence, he was especially good-looking at that particular moment. His hair was slightly messy and his eyes were sparkling mischievously. Leila was sorely tempted to just kiss him now, partly because of how hot he looked and partly because the look on the other girls' faces would be priceless.

Then Leila almost did kiss him that moment as she saw who the girl smiling flirtatiously at the front of the group was. Because she _really_ hated Meggin Stone.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Sirius jumped off the train and winced inwardly as he caught sight of Meggin Stone leading a bunch of her giggling followers towards him. He shot a desperate look at his friends behind him and almost stopped breathing.

Leila's electric blue eyes twinkled and her black hair blew gently around her shoulders. She looked at the group of girls, then at Sirius and a weird look crossed her face.

Sirius had a strong urge to kiss her but held himself back, if he was going to torture Meggin and her dumb friends then he would have some fun with it. He put on his most charming smile, winked at Leila and turned to Meggin who had stopped in front of him, looking what Sirius assumed was supposed to be solemn.

James, Lily, Peter, Jess, Remus, Rose and Leila were all watching with bated breath.

"Oh hey Meggin. Didn't see you there." Sirius said, trying not to laugh and putting on a voice of forced, forced calm. Meggin looked as though she was trying to cry.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry for what happened at the end of last term," She said. Sirius thought she might as well be apologising for killing his mother. "I promise that I was only with that Corner freak for a few minutes. He forced me into it. I didn't want to, I told him I-"

"Meggin. Don't worry about it." Sirius said, smiling. Leila eyed him suspiciously and Lily had raised an eyebrow. He almost laughed. "Oh, hey you've met Leila right?" He asked Meggin, gesturing for Leila to come over. Leila did so and Sirius put an arm round her.

Meggin stared at Leila for several seconds. Leila played dumb and smiled sweetly at Meggin. The girls behind Meggin immediately began whispering to each other.

"Yes. I know, _Leila_" Meggin said tightly.

"Oh great! I'm going out with her now. You two should hang out some time I'm sure get along _really well_." Sirius said matter-of-factly, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Leila batted her eyelashes. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius could see James, Peter and Remus laughing. Meggin sneered.

"I'm sure. I have to go." And with a flick of her hair, Meggin stalked off.

"Nice seeing you!" Sirius called after her, fighting against laughter. He turned to face Leila took her smiling face in his hands. "You didn't think I was actually flirting with her did you?"

Leila bit her lip. Sirius ran his thumb along the same lip, then he really did kiss her.

**X-x-X-x-X**

James walked into the Great Hall behind his friends. Sirius had his arm around Leila. As they were spotted my the rest of the school a few whispers broke out and several eyes were upon them. Sirius bit his lip but Leila just ignored them.

The feast went fast and James tried to resist looking over at Lily every few seconds. Since they were sitting at the very end of the Gryffindor table, near the door, the Marauders and the girls were the first out of the hall at the end of the feast. The 8 of them were halfway across the entrance hall, walking in silence when Remus stopped in his tracks.

"What?" Rose asked instantly. Remus cast a worried, sideways glance at Sirius.

"Regulas… and Snape." He said cautiously.

"What about them?" Lily enquired.

"Their talking about Voldemort."

Lily and Leila gasped. Sirius stiffened and James scowled.

"Where?" Sirius asked roughly. Remus led the way off to the left and beside a door disguised as a wall. James went slightly pink.

"How'd they get the password for here?" He hissed.

"You know about this one?" Sirius asked

"Yea, it's on the ma- err, I found it last term." James said, blushing deeper through his slip-up. "And I made the password." He pressed an ear to the wall to listen to the people inside. Everyone did the same, Jess and Peter traded smirks as they did so.

Snape and Regulas' voices couldn't be heard.

"Hang on." Remus muttered a spell, tapping the wall with his wand and the voices seemed louder.

"How could you hear them before?" Jess whispered.

"Moony." Remus whispered back.

"Be quiet!" Sirius snapped, listening intently to the voice of his brother.

"…_If I don't want to?" Regulas was saying forcefully._

"_Then you can be the one dealing with Bellatrix! She's promised You-Know-Who that you'll join!" Snape spat back_

"_Without even asking me? That's crazy!"_

"_Well she's _your_ cousin."_

"_So is Narcy but she doesn't go around promising evil dark lords that I'll join the death eaters!"_

"_Your precious _Narcy_ is a death eater too if you don't remember! Come on Black! It's just a tiny burn!" Snape paused, " Besides, I thought you wanted to join."_

There was a long silence. Leila was half listening, half staring at Sirius who was almost shaking, an angry scowl etched onto his face. He waited anxiously for Regulas' reply.

"_I… I do." Regulas said eventually._

Sirius pounded his fist against the wall angrily and stormed away from his friends. Leila went to follow him but James caught her wrist and shook his head grimly.

"…_Hear that?" Regulas was now asking._

"_Yeah. We better check it out. Remember; at midnight." Said Snape._

James jumped away from the wall along with everyone else. They heard Snape mutter the password; 'Emerald'.

"The passwords Emer-?" Lily was cut off as Snape froze in his tracks upon seeing James, Rose, Remus, Lily, Jess and Leila waiting for him. He scowled at the Potters.

"What do you want Potter?" He spat. Leila opened her mouth to answer but stopped as she saw Regulas behind Snape. A look of shock spread across her face. James could relate.

Regulas was 14 years old. He looked sickly pale and eerily like Sirius but without the cheerful, mischievous air around him. His eyes were different to Sirius' too, they were dark blue and troubled. James felt sorry for the poor kid.

"I said what do you want Potter." Snape repeated angrily. James stared the greasy git down, Lily was watching him. He looked at Regulas who was scanning the group, perhaps looking for Sirius.

"Just listening." James said quietly. "In fact we were about to leave. You made your brother pretty angry." He directed his words at Regulas and walked away with Remus, Rose, Peter and Jess right behind him.

Lily glared at Snape who winced. Leila took one sad glance at the troubled looking Regulas before tugging Lily after her cousin.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"Where the hell is he?" James said grumpily.

"Why don't you use the ma-?" Peter began before Remus cut him off with a sharp 'No!'

"Maybe he's outside." Leila offered.

"He'd have to be bloody stupid to go out now! It's freezing!" James said, ruffling his hair.

"It was snowing the night that we… the day of the… funeral." Leila said awkwardly. Remus bit his lip and looked at the ground. There was a long pause.

"I'll go and look for him." Lily said eventually, "If a teacher catches me I'll say I thought I saw someone come outside and went to check it out as part of my rounds."

"Maybe James should go then. As Sirius' best friend." Rose put in.

"No." Leila shook her head, seeming to have realise that she wasn't going to be able to go and find Sirius herself. "He should talk to Lily. I mean… she's not exactly… close… with her sister."

Lily gave Leila a tiny smile and her cheeks tinted pink. James nodded.

"Leila's right. I wouldn't be able to help. We'll wait for you in the common room Lils." He said. Everyone agreed and Lily set off out of the castle.

"So, um, James…" Leila said slyly, "You made the password, 'Emerald'? Now, where exactly did your inspiration come from?"

James growled and lunged at Leila who dodged and ran away.

The little group entertained themselves the rest of the way up to the common room by playing tag and teasing James about Lily.

**A.N- **_Tada! And we're officially back at Hogwarts! YAY!_

_I love Regulas, he's an awesome character! _

_Hooray for next chapter: __**Tight… Without the fingers!**_

_Stay Tuned and REVIEW!!!!_

_Toff.x_


	27. Chapter 27: Tight Without the Fingers

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Seven- Tight… without the fingers**

Sirius stared out across the quidditch pitch, there was still the lightest layer of snow over the grounds and tiny specks of water drizzled down from the grey clouds above. The water ran down his face and he had no idea whether he was crying or not.

A figure was stumbling into the quidditch pitch, it was unmistakably a girl, but it wasn't Leila. Sirius was glad, someone who grew up with a perfect family wouldn't help him right now.

He stared down at the girl and noticed the dulled coppery shade of her hair which was long, straight and pulled back into a tight ponytail. The girl looked up and spotted him in the stands, he couldn't see her eye colour but knew that they would be brilliant green.

Great. They send Lily up to talk to him. Lily will know exactly how he's feeling! He tried to shake the bitter sarcasm out of his thoughts but it didn't work.

He stared out across the pitch to where the Gryffindor stands stood and waited for Lily to come up.

…

"So you found me?" He said, just as Lily arrived at the top of the staircase.

"Yup. Wasn't that hard. Once Leila suggested outside." Lily's voice was surprisingly calm and understanding. He was leaning against the barrier that kept people from falling off the edge of the stands. He heard Lily move forwards to stand beside him. "I've never been in the Slytherin stands before." She muttered absently.

"This is the place where all the people Reg cared about used to sit." Sirius said bitterly, slumping backwards onto a hard bench. Lily looked at him sadly.

"I know this won't help you at all and the situation's completely different, but my big sister, she's nothing like me. She hates me, she banned me from her wedding. I tried to tell myself that I really didn't care that much coz of the fat git she was marrying… but she's still my sister." Lily shrugged to herself, slipping her hands into her pockets. Sirius frowned.

"Is she the one spoiled by her parents just because she's not you?" He asked.

"No." Lily said quietly, "That would be me." She smiled wryly. Sirius grinned.

"Right. So that leaves me in your sisters place… are you trying to say you think Leila's a fat git?" He said mock-suspiciously. Lily laughed.

"Are you saying you're going to marry Leila?" She asked. Sirius went pink. Lily laughed again. "My point is, you might have the worst siblings, or parents or cousins or house elves for the difference it will make."

"I have all of those." Sirius said miserably.

"Yea, but it doesn't matter if they're all fat gits, you can't help their choices, you've just got to live with it. It's your choice whether you continue to love them or not." Lily sat down next to him. He sighed.

"But I do hate my family. I hate my parents, and my cousins and aunts and uncles… 'cept Andy and Uncle Alphard… hell, I even hate my stupid house elf! But Reg's different, we used to get on when we were really little. Reg never told mum that we got along but we still did. But when I was sorted into Gryffindor, it all changed. The whole load of being the only Black heir fell on him and Bellatrix started convincing him that I was worthless and I just… I dunno, it's weird." Sirius stared down at his hands. "I mean… he's a death eater now. He's joined the people that killed Leila's dad and Moony's parents. The people that wrecked Rose's family, but… he's my little brother." Lily nodded understandingly.

"Don't worry about it. He doesn't hate you though… when you left, he and Snape came out and James told Regulas that he'd made you angry. He was ashamed," Lily patted Sirius' shoulder. Sirius shook his head and wiped rain off his face.

"Yea… I guess there's nothing I can do to help. We should get back, the others will be waiting." Sirius stood up and grinned at Lily who smiled back. "Oh and… thanks."

"You're welcome… besides, it's like you said. We're tight!" Lily grinned.

He noticed she was wearing a gold necklace with an emerald pendant on it.

"Merlin! How much did James spend on that thing?" He asked, in amused disbelief. Lily pulled her robes over the necklace and scowled.

"Yea well, how much did you spend on that bracelet you gave Leila?" She shot back haughtily.

Sirius shrugged, going slightly pink, "Enough." He paused, then grinned.

"Are you saying that James spends a lot on you for the same reason that I spend on Leila?" He asked slyly. She blushed.

"No!" She said hurriedly. "Besides… James doesn't like me in that way."

Sirius stopped and let Lily walk a few steps ahead and smirked at her.

You'd think she'd pick up on these things… James had always said she was observant.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila waited in the common room, trying to act casual as she waited for Sirius and Lily to return.

And just as Remus slapped his book shut and announced 'Finished!' the portrait hole opened and Lily climbed in, her hair was half dried with a few wispy strands hanging round her face that had gone frizzy.

Behind her Sirius clambered in. His hair was still damp and sticking to his forehead. His clothes were soaked. Leila wondered whether he'd appreciate her rushing over to him or not.

But he beat her to it. Somehow he managed to get to her, just as she stood up. He took her into his arms and kissed her, pulling her as close to him as he could, not even caring that he was wet and everyone was watching him. Leila kissed him back, running her hands through his tangled hair.

"Ahem… still here you know." Said James.

Leila and Sirius drew apart and Sirius brushed his lips gently over Leila's once more.

"Are you done yet?" James asked. "Oh good, that was the second time today" He sighed after Leila's dreamy 'Mmmhmm'.

"So, I'm guessing you found him." Peter said sarcastically, turning to Lily. Jess laughed and Lily and Sirius grinned.

"Course she did!" Sirius said airily, sitting down with Leila. "It's like I told James and Remus. Me and Lily are tight!" He crossed two fingers then frowned. "Except …Without the fingers." Leila laughed and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.

This term really wasn't going to be that bad.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Lily studied her emerald necklace. It was only her and James left in the common room. James was just leaving.

"Hey James." She said, James turned around to face her.

"How much did you spend on this?" She asked, thinking of the conversation she'd had with Sirius earlier.

James shrugged, going slightly pink, "Enough."

**A.N- **_did you get the connection about the gifts???_

_Not much to say here really. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year???_

_Next Chapter: __**Rumours**_

_Read and Review_

_Toff.x_


	28. Chapter 28: Rumours

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Eight- Rumours**

The next morning, a great deal of students were extremely interested in the newest girlfriend of the hottest guy in school: Sirius Black.

Talk varied from regular gossip such as _'It's not that surprising, he always goes for the good-looking ones' _to friendly comments such as _'It's about time too, they make a great couple!' _to jealous and angry taunts (mostly from Meggin Stone, her friends and a majority of Slytherins) such as _'Urgh! Potter and Black? Like that'll last!'_

Leila ignored all of these comments and just continued her normal routine at school, just sticking with Sirius a bit more than she used to.

Sirius however, wasn't very comfortable with all the attention. He kept biting his lip, scowling at the not-so-friendly gossipers and nervously glancing at Leila to see if it was worrying her.

In between the morning's classes and through break, Lily had managed to snap, yell and deduct house-points from a variety of the not-so-friendly gossipers and Remus and Peter were getting tired of holding James back.

"Well how would you react if some git started insulting your best mate and cousin everywhere you went?" James hissed at Remus after one of Meggin Stone's friend had hissed a particularly nasty comment at Leila.

The Marauders were trailing behind Leila and Lily as they wandered outside the castle to spend the lunchtime.

"Well I'd be pissed if they were insulting you Prongs but if it was my cousin then I don't think I'd mind so much." Sirius replied after glowering at the girl who'd insulted Leila.

"That's because if it was your cousin you'd be the one doing the insulting." Peter said, rolling his eyes.

"Besides, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Moony." James said.

"I don't like my cousins… my uncle doesn't let them go near me anyway 'coz of my furry little problem." Remus said.

"Fine! But I'm not talking about your cousins or Padfoot's cousins, I'm talking about Leila!" James said irritably.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so James! Of course I'd be angry then!" Sirius teased. James hit him over the head with his bag and a bunch of parchment scrolls fell out. Peter picked them up.

"What're these?" he asked.

"Um, just head stuff! It's nothing!" James said hurriedly, taking the parchment back and stuffing them in his bag.

"Sure, so why are you fussing so much about these rumours Padfoot?" Remus asked Sirius. Sirius frowned.

"What're you on about?" He asked with shifty eyes. James rolled his eyes.

"The rumours… about you and Leila… how it's not going to last… and how you're only going out 'coz you think she's good-looking… you know, those rumours!" Peter said. Sirius scowled.

"I'm not fussing about them!" He grumbled.

"Sure, sure." James and Remus said at the same time. Peter frowned at them but Sirius ignored it.

"I just… I don't… I- you…" Sirius stopped to sit down underneath the beech tree by the lake, melting and drying a patch of slushy grass beforehand. He ran a hand through his hair. James, Remus and Peter waited anxiously. Sirius looked up at them. "You guys don't believe them do you?" He asked.

"No!" "What? That's crazy!" "Of course not!"

Sirius smiled half-heartedly at his friends. James sat down next to him and smiled sympathetically.

"Look, Padfoot, I know you have a reputation for being a player. I mean, you have been out with a lot of girls, and none of them went out with you for long-"

"Leila's different." Sirius interrupted, cutting James short. James looked sideways at Sirius who continued. "Leila… she's just… I don't think I'll even look at another girl now I'm with her…" He looked out across the lake, to where Leila and Lily were chatting and doing homework. Leila turned around and waved at him.

"Then go tell her that… if you're so worried." Remus said, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, go on Padfoot." Peter added, pushing Sirius forward. James grinned at his best friend and with a withering smile, Sirius pushed himself off the ground and walked over to the two girls.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"Hey Leil, hi Lily." Sirius said, sitting down. Leila turned to grin at him and kiss him on the cheek.

"Hi Sirius," Lily said, rolling her eyes, then, catching the look on Sirius' face said, "Hey Leil, I need to talk to James about head stuff, I'll catch up with you later!"

Leila smirked as the auburn hair, tied in a perfect ponytail, bobbed away towards James, Remus and Peter.

"So what's up?" Leila asked shooting a concerned look at her boyfriend.

"I… you know the, um… stuff people have been saying about us recently." Sirius said awkwardly.

"Yes." Leila said slowly.

"Well, you don't… your not… worried about them or anything, are you?" Sirius stared adamantly at his feet. Leila's lips twitched up slightly but her voice was solemn when she answered.

"No, Sirius."

"Oh. It's just that…"

"Sirius, you don't need to worry about me breaking up with you, the rumours going round are just people like Meggin Stone's ways of saying that they're jealous." Leila took Sirius' hand, noting how pale and fragile her fingers looked against his.

"I know… I guess I'm just paranoid." Sirius mumbled. Leila leant against him.

"Sirius, I know you; you're not just some guy that I'm going out with 'coz he's smart and good-looking. I love you."

"I know you do." Sirius said softly. "And I love you too." Leila looked up at him and he bent down to kiss her.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"Hi guys." Rose and Jess had arrived and sat down next to Lily, Remus, Peter and James.

"Where've you been?" Remus asked.

"We went to the library. I was helping Jess with the transfiguration homework." Rose replied.

"Yeah, that homework was- whoa! Hey James, looks like Sirius worked through his problems." Remus said sarcastically, gesturing to the edge of the lake where Leila and Sirius were currently snogging.

Meggin Stone and her friends were sitting a few trees away and heard Remus, looking across to where he was pointing. Meggin huffed and stalked off with her gaggle of friends behind her. Lily started to snigger.

Leila and Sirius were still kissing. Peter cleared his throat and stood up.

"What're you doing?" Jess asked suspiciously. Peter grinned cheekily at her.

"Revenge." He said. "OI! PADFOOT! GET A ROOM!"

The couple sprung apart. Sirius turned around and glared at them. Leila started to laugh. Several people were staring at them.

"On one hand, they've been completely embarrassed in front of half the school. But on the other hand, they haven't died from lack of oxygen." James said, mock-reasonably. Everyone laughed.

"That was mean. Leila didn't yell at us in Hogsmeade." Jess said.

"Yeah but I don't think anyone would want to watch Meggin Stone kissing Jess." Rose said.

"Ew… who would want to kiss her?" Lily shuddered.

"Snivellous?" Peter offered.

"They'd make a good couple. We should set them up!" James said enthusiastically. "I can see it now! They'll meet at the Hogs Head! And fall instantly in love! Although she might have to wear a hair net; she doesn't want to get grease on her perfect little curls!"

Everyone laughed and there was a pause before Rose spoke.

"So what's this head stuff that you and James have been working on?" She asked Lily.

"Um… we're not supposed to tell you. It's something Dumbledore said might be fun for us all." James answered.

"Is it a dance?" Jess asked, "That would be wicked!"

"Um… no, it's not a dance." Lily said, casting a quick glance at her feet.

"It _is_ a dance?" Rose gasped.

"Really? James?" Peter asked.

"Um… maybe." Usually James would have just lied but he decided that they were going to find out soon enough anyway.

"It is!" Jess said, squealing excitedly. Lily grinned and sat up importantly, making it clear that she was making an announcement.

"On the evening of the last Sunday of term of the year 1977, Hogwarts will host the first ever, Easter Ball!"

**A.N- **_Yay! Dance! Are you just screaming with excitement???? I know I am! Actually I'm not coz I've had this planned since chapter 5 or so…_

_But anyway, please review, the dance should be in Chapter 31 or 32 if we're lucky! _

_Um, by the way. Sorry for the delay with this chapter but you guys can't complain, my reviews are running lower than usual!!!! –hint, hint, nudge, nudge-_

_Chapter 29= __**So… about the dance**_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	29. Chapter 29: So about the dance

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Twenty Nine- So… about the dance**

The next month or so passed smoothly, and soon the Easter Ball had been announced officially. Everyone was getting very excited. It wasn't until a rainy March evening on Sunday, a week before the dance when the first really interesting thing happened.

The Gryffindor 7th years were gathered in the common room and Rose was reading a letter from Josh aloud.

"…_Samantha says to say hi. I told her about my illness the other day and she didn't mind at all, she's moving in with me next week!_

_Say hi to Leila, Remus and the others for me. _

_Josh x_"

"Wow, sounds like he really likes Samantha." James said.

"Yeah… great." Rose mumbled. Remus smiled and picked up a copy of the prophet. He scanned the front page and sighed.

"More attacks on muggles…" He said,

"Where?" Lily and Jess said immediately, fearing for their families.

"Surrey." Remus said.

"WHAT!" Lily screeched.

"Your parents?" Leila asked worriedly.

"No, my sister." Lily said, "What does it say?" She asked Remus, green eyes wide with panic.

"It says that a group of guys were found dead in a park in somewhere called Little Whinging." Remus frowned, "One muggle saw the attack while driving past but when ministry officials questioned him about what happened he refused to comment. Apparently the man's wife has a sister who attends Hogwarts but both she and her husband are muggles. They didn't want to speak to any wizards and the witnesses wife wishes them not to be named."

"Oh My God." Lily breathed.

"Someone you know?" James asked.

"That's my sister! _I'm_ the sister attending Hogwarts. My sister and her husband moved into Little Whinging a few months ago. They hate wizards, that'll be why they refused to talk to them… Oh my God. I need to write to my parents!" Lily grabbed some parchment, ink and quill and began to scribble away.

"That's kind of freaky." Jess said. Leila nodded in agreement.

"Soon Regulas is gonna be doing these sorts of things." Sirius mumbled, almost to himself.

"Sirius you can't think like that." James said.

"Yeah, lets talk about more positive things!" Peter said.

"Like the dance! We're all going right?" Jess asked brightly. Everyone nodded. Lily bit her lip.

"Who're you going to go with James?" Leila asked innocently. Everyone but James and Lily smirked.

"Dunno… I'll find someone…" James muttered. Occupying himself by reaching for a cauldron cake.

"What about you Lily?" Rose asked slyly.

"I don't think I'll go." Lily mumbled.

"What?!" Leila said, outraged. James dropped the cauldron cake but didn't go down to get it. An unreadable expression passed across his face.

"Well… I'll be there and everything, I just wasn't planning on going with anyone… I'll just, you know, do all my head girl things…" She trailed off, uncomfortably, avoiding the incredulous stares of her friends. James blinked at his feet numbly.

Leila frowned at both of them, wondering how on earth they could do this to each other… to themselves! The dance that they'd organised together was supposed to be their perfect chance to finally get together. And now Lily was just giving up??

"Um… I'm getting tired… I might go to bed…" She said in a small voice before slipping away, leaving an awkward silence behind her.

"I think I might go to bed aswell." James mumbled. Everyone watched sympathetically as he got up dejectedly and walked painfully slowly towards the boys' dorm.

"Hang on a second!" Leila stood up angrily and stomped over to James who was watching her; bewildered .She poked him in the chest and her eyes crackled with what looked like live electricity.

"_You_ are going to ask Lily to the dance!" She said forcefully.

"W-Wha-?"

"Tomorrow!" Leila added.

"But she just said-"

"So what? She needs to go with someone and you're the one who fancies her so just ask her out! Why not? You've asked her out millions of times before!" Leila stared at James, daring him to challenge her.

"But she doesn't like me!" He said, accepting the dare. Leila's glare faltered and changed to a look of utter disbelief.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" And with a frustrated look, she stomped away to the girls' dorms.

James stared after her, as though she'd just slapped him. The others just blinked at each other in shock.

"I think Leila's gone crazy." Rose said vaguely.

"I just can't believe Lily's not going!" sighed Jess. "Poor James." She added lowly, so that only Peter beside her would hear.

"What's Prongs gonna do?" Peter wondered aloud. Sirius looked around for James but he'd gone. Remus sighed.

"Oh dear." he groaned, "This means he'll be depressed!"

"Remus! Don't be so mean!" Rose scolded.

"You haven't seen Sirius when James gets depressed." Peter told her, rolling his eyes exasperatedly. Sirius grinned impishly.

"Come on, this calls for an extreme Marauder pep-talk!" He announced, dragging Remus and Peter up by the arms and towing them up the stairs after James.

"I love you Jess!" Peter cried dramatically back at the girls.

"Bring me flowers at my funeral!" Remus called, just as dramatically. Rose and Jess exchanged glances and sighed.

"How on earth will that help James?" Jess asked in disbelief. Rose smirked.

"I dunno, I guess it's a Marauder thing."

**X-x-X-x-X**

Lily sat on her bed, completely forgetting about the letter she was supposed to be writing to her parents.

The panic she'd felt regarding the attack in Little Whinging was fading, being replaced by confusion. Why would everyone be so horrified that she didn't have a date? She'd still be going, just on her own. James didn't have a date and they weren't concerned about him.

Lily sighed. James… she just couldn't get her head around the look on his face when she'd said she didn't want a date. So… rejected.

What could that mean? Surely he didn't have feelings for her, after all, why would he? Any guy who became infatuated with a girl so completely that he asked her out constantly wouldn't just randomly stop asking if he still had feelings for her? Right? That made sense.

Then why was he so bloody depressed she wasn't going to go with anyone??

_Maybe I should just tell him how I feel… maybe he does feel the same way, maybe he just doesn't want to annoy me. Maybe if I ask he'll say yes and everything would be perfect like it was for Sirius and Leila…_

"Oh stop it Lily." She grumbled out loud, frowning at herself. She was supposed to be writing to her parents, not wasting time over silly fantasies.

She heard someone enter the dorm and sighed.

"Leila I don't need to hear it!" She snapped, irritated instantly. Leila stopped beside Lily's bed and stood, not saying a word. Lily pursed her lips, took a deep calming breath and looked stubbornly up at Leila's carefully composed face. "What?" Lily asked levelly.

"You're only making it harder." Leila said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lily sniffed, not meeting Leila's eyes.

"Yes you do Lily." Lily didn't answer. "You know what annoys me the most?" Leila continued. Lily sighed.

"What?" She asked sarcastically.

"You won't even tell me. Of course I already know, but you could have confided in me. I trusted you… I told you when I fancied Sirius. Surely I'm not that bad at keeping secrets? Am I?" Leila's voice made Lily feel guilty.

"Leila I just-"

"No Lily, excuses won't make you or me feel any better. Just tell him how you feel. This dance is the chance you've been waiting for. You know it is. Ok? Just. _Tell. Him._" Lily frowned, annoyed now. Who was Leila to tell her what to do?

"Leila you're not helping Ok? I don't need anyone here telling me what to do Ok? I need to figure things out on my own. O.K?" Lily couldn't keep the annoyance off her face as she stared pointedly at Leila who grinned the Potter grin at her, making Lily wince.

"Ok. Good idea. But just so you know… James cares about you more than you know." Leila's voice and face turned gentle.

"Yeah right." Lily muttered.

"No. I'm not kidding!" Leila glared again, her face deadly serious. "Lily you have to listen to me and you can't keep trying to get over him… Lily _listen._ I'm telling you! There are only three kinds of people in James Potter's world; Family, enemies and _you_."

Lily's head snapped up to Leila's face but Leila was leaving the room, not looking back, leaving her words pushing down on Lily, who sat on her bed, more confused than ever.

**A.N- **_Hmmm. Was that dramatic enough. Leila was kind of cheesy in this chapter I think. Sorry if that bothers you… I hope it wasn't to fast for you; skipping almost a whole term and all, but really, what else was there to happen?_

_Sorry for the long wait, hopefully it won't happen again. A big thank you to __**MaxRideRox**__! I'm thrilled that someone loves my story enough to pm and update!! Hope to get a review from you!! ;)_

_Please Review! Next chapter's called: __**Lily's Hair**_

_Stay Tuned _

_Toff.x_

_P.S- The connection about the gifts in chapter 27 was that James and Sirius both answered with a shrug and the word 'Enough' when questioned about the amount of money they spent on Lily and Leila. So basically, Lily sort of suspects that James spent the same amount of money on her that Sirius did on Leila. Does that make sense??_


	30. Chapter 30: Lily's Hair

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty- Lily's Hair**

Lily was avoiding James. James was avoiding Leila.

This worked out well most of the time as Leila was with Lily mostly so James avoiding Leila made it easy for Lily to avoid James.

When Leila wanted to spend time with Sirius however… well, it was a problem.

It was for this reason that Sirius had become tired of James' idea of avoiding Leila and removed himself from the company of James, Peter and Jess (Remus and Rose were 'out for some fresh air') to sit with Lily and Leila on the other side of the common room that Wednesday night.

Lily watched Sirius cross the room, grin at her in greeting and tap Leila on the shoulder, causing her to look up from her potions essay, smile and lean up to kiss him.

Lily sighed and looked away, across the room to look at James, but every time she looked at him, Leila's words from Sunday came back to her…

_There are three types of people in James Potter's world; friends, enemies and you._

She knew she must mean something to James, obviously, as a close friend and 'partner' as head girl, but really, a separate part of his world? Leila had to be exaggerating!

Then how come something told her that Leila wasn't. James _had_ been asking her out since third year!

_But he stopped._ The feeble part of her mind said.

It was right, he'd stopped. Completely. The thought that she would ever say yes had completely dissolved from his mind. That, or he wasn't interested.

_But if he wasn't interested, then Leila would have lied about her own cousin, whom she knew like a brother._ The determined part of her mind said.

_I know when James is lying. _Leila had said, so long ago when Remus being a werewolf was an unknown fact. She'd been right. She was always right about James.

So why not now?

Evidence built up in her head. The password to the secret passage. The overly expensive Christmas present. The things Alice used to say. The things Hazel teased her about. The way she sometimes caught him staring at her.

It dove her crazy because, in her mind, it didn't add up. Why on earth would James Potter fall for _her? _Why now?

Lily tugged at her hair, which, as always, was pulled back into a high ponytail, without a strand out of place. But when she was agitated, like now, her ponytail always annoyed her. Normally she liked it better that way, it was still long like she liked it, but it was away from her face so it wouldn't get in the way. She wore it practically and didn't like it down, she didn't think it looked as nice.

But right now she was annoyed, so she tugged it a few times before pulling it out, unaware of the effects it would have on James, watching her from across the room.

**X-x-X**

James was reading 'Quidditch Through The Ages' for the second time after he'd received it from Sirius at Christmas when it had just been released.

He looked up briefly and saw Jess dosing off on Peter's shoulder while Peter did charms homework awkwardly on one knee.

Frowning slightly, James realised that Jess had her hair down. It was wavy and the strawberry blonde strands glinted golden in the firelight. He put down his book and thought for a moment.

When Rose and Remus had left the common room Rose had had her hair down, it fell in ringlets over her shoulders and Remus had been running his hand through them just before they left.

Leila's hair was in a plait today but she normally wore it down or in loose ponytails. It was dead straight and sometimes looked oddly messy.

But Lily, she never wore her hair down, he had no idea what it looked like.

"Jess?" He asked quietly,

"Mmmhmm." Jess mumbled, opening an eye.

"Why does Lily never wear her hair down?"

Jess raised one eyebrow and Peter looked up, smirked and then went back to his homework.

"She likes it that way, it doesn't get in her way. She won't cut it because she likes it long, but she doesn't think it looks good down." Jess smiled at him. "She takes it out sometimes, when she can't decide on something, or if she's annoyed."

James looked back at Lily who was tugging at her ponytail looking indecisive. He felt an odd glimmer of hope.

Sure enough, she frowned once and tugged at her ribbon, making auburn strands fall loosely around her face. She pulled her fingers through it a few times before leaving it and reaching for some homework in an annoyed fashion.

James was unaware that he was staring at Lily without blinking and that Jess and Peter were laughing at him. All he could see was her hair.

It was dead straight, like Leila's, but not as thin. It was thick and fiery red in the light, shimmering with flecks of golden brown. It was layered and the shortest bits framed her face perfectly, making her skin look paler and her eyes brighter.

Several incoherent thoughts shot through his mind, mostly based around something to do with wondering what it felt like. But the first coherent thought was a question: Why doesn't she like it?

But sadly, it didn't last long. Now that Lily was immersed in her book, her hair was falling across her face and she didn't like it, so she tied it back up.

James tore his gaze away from her dejectedly and stood up, yawning. He needed to get some rest…

**X-x-X**

Jess waited until James had gone before calling softly across the room.

"Lily?" She asked. Lily looked up curiously.

"Yes." She asked with a polite smile.

"If you _do_ go to the dance… wear your hair down."

…

**A.N- **_Sorry that was so short! But the next chapter should be considerably longer! And yes, it will be the dance! Yayness!!!_

_Haha, I love Jess, she's my 3__rd__ favourite OC (Leila and Josh come 1__st__). What about you? Who's your favourite? REVIEW PLEASE!! Next Chapter: __**Adding Things Up**_

_Stay Tuned_

**Toff.x**


	31. Chapter 31: Adding Things Up

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty One- Adding things up**

The week passed swiftly enough, James seeming a bit quieter than he had before, no longer avoiding Leila as such. Lily was still refusing to talk to him though, getting nervous whenever he or the dance was bought up in everyday conversation.

Leila crept down to the common room late Friday night to speak to James. She couldn't have him all depressed for tomorrow (Dance Night).

"James?" She asked softly.

"Yes." James replied, not looking up from his homework.

"I'm sorry about last week. You don't need to do everything I say, it's none of my business."

"No. It isn't." James set his quill down and looked up, ruffling his hair, "But I've been stupid. I don't know why I'm not asking her but now that she's no longer talking to me, I've decided not to bother. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to have a dance with her like at Christmas, but as for more… well, I'm not expecting much." He smiled slightly and Leila tilted her head.

A lot of people underestimated James. He connected well with people, and understood things. He was good at handling immensely difficult situations and loyal to the 'enth degree. But somehow he just couldn't pluck up the courage to ask the girl he loved (yes, _loved_) out.

"Maybe you should just tell her how you feel, even if it gets you nowhere." Leila suggested quietly. James bit his lip and picked up his quill again.

"And maybe I'm just being cowardly. I don't know. I'll figure it out… hopefully." He ruffled his hair again and pushed his glasses further up his nose. Leila smiled sadly.

"Ok. Goodnight Cuz."

"'Night. And… thanks."

**X-x-X-x-X**

"Ok! Leila! Out you come!" Jess called, a little while before the dance was scheduled to start. Leila walked out of the bathroom, posing elaborately and showing off her dress.

Jess and Rose had seen it as they'd gone shopping with Leila in Hogsmeade a few weekends ago, but Lily (who had been given a dress as a Christmas present from her parents and refused to show it to anyone) had not as the other girls said that if they couldn't see her dress she couldn't see theirs.

Rose and Jess were already dressed and ready to go, standing by Jess's bed. Rose wore a sleeveless black dress with silver sequins over the top half, and flat, but pretty black shoes. The dress reached just below her knees and showed off some of her slender legs. Her hair was pulled into a bun with ringlet-y strands hanging from it. Jess wore her hair down in soft curls. Her dress was simple, the same length as Rose's but pink and with spaghetti straps.

Leila was wearing a long blue dress which trailed to one side slightly at the bottom. Glittering silver material hung over a shiny blue underskirt and a few silver sequins were dotted round her waistline. It had a halter neck, not too low cut, but leaving enough space for a silver diamond necklace. Her bracelet from Sirius glinted on her wrist and her hair was clipped back, rather like Rose's but since her hair was straight and had bits of glitter in it, the hanging strands created a quite different effect.

"Wow. You look great. Sirius is gonna die when he sees you!" Jess said with a grin.

"I certainly hope not!" Leila giggled. Lily rolled her eyes and Leila grinned at her. "You're turn miss! Let's see _your_ dress!"

**X-x-X**

15 minutes later, Lily emerged from the bathroom and Leila, Rose and Jess gasped.

"Wow Lils. You look stunning!" Rose breathed. Lily pursed her lips and blushed.

"You wore your hair down!" Jess said happily and Leila and Rose snickered. Lily turned her nose up indignantly.

"Oh shut up." She muttered.

"No seriously Lils, it looks great!" Leila reassured her. "Come on the boys are waiting."

So the girls filed out of the dorm excitedly, towards the common room where their boys were waiting.

As they appeared, four jaws dropped open and Rose giggled, spotting James's pained look. "Tonight will be the night." She whispered to Jess, "That James Potter finally cracks!

**X-x-X-x-X**

James fidgeted nervously and impatiently. He stood among a gaggle of guys waiting for dates, just behind Sirius, Remus and Peter, feeling stupid and cowardly.

Jess and Rose emerged, looking exceptionally pretty. Remus and Peter stumbled forward, both looking as though they'd been hit by bludgers. James rolled his eyes and moved to stand awkwardly next to Sirius.

Then Leila appeared, with eyes only for Sirius who drew in a breath sharply, shot a quick glance at James and walked forwards to greet her.

James himself didn't know exactly what he (and his 6 friends, standing expectantly off to one side) was waiting for until it came.

Lily was wearing a simple red dress. It was sleeveless with a piece of black fabric tied loosely round the waist. A similar piece of fabric was twisted in between two single strands of hair which had been pulled back. The first thing he noticed was that she was wearing her hair, relatively down, and it looked even more stunning than it had a few nights ago. The second thing he noticed was that she was wearing the necklace he'd bought for her at Christmas.

The last thing he noticed was that he was staring. He blushed and hurried to catch up with the others. What he didn't notice was Lily's bright green eyes on his back as he did so…

**X-x-X**

Later on in the evening, when almost everyone had gone, save for the 7th year Gryffindors and some others, James leant against one of the walls of the now elaborately decorated Great Hall, wondering how he and Lily had ever managed to plan this whole thing.

He and Lily…

He glanced across the room to where Lily had been sitting most of the night, a little while spent with everyone else, a few chunks of time sitting with just one of the Marauder couples, a few times just sitting, declining offers to dance from various guys with polite smiles and a nervous flick of her hair that made James ache to go and sit with her.

But he couldn't… he wasn't brave enough. And he called himself a Gryffindor. Sirius often said that it made no sense; back when Lily hated James he never hesitated to yell across the room "Hey Evans! Go out with me?". Maybe that had been because back then, he always knew deep down, that the answer would always be the same: 'No Potter'. But now that they were closer than ever, he couldn't even muster the courage to ask her to dance.

How. Pathetic.

A few girls waited hopefully at tables nearby, sitting like Lily was and casting James hopeful glances. He took minimal comfort in the fact that he wasn't as pathetic as them… Yet it was in some ways flattering…

A new song came on and he saw Leila giggling and Sirius twirled her around several times. She lost balance on the last turn and stumbled into Sirius's waiting arms where they smiled at each other in wonder. James sighed and shifted his gaze to see Remus frowning at him over Rose's head.

James grimaced at him. Remus glanced at Lily once before biting his lip and turning back to Rose.

James sighed and glanced at Lily only to see her getting up from her seat and preparing to leave. Panic shot through James and he desperately tried to collect his thoughts.

Leila's words echoed in his mind…

"_you're the one who fancies her so just ask her out! Why not? You've asked her out millions of times before"_

With an exasperated glare in Leila's direction he stood up and walked casually over the table Lily was gathering her stuff from.

Her hair was shimmering with the lights and the bright, spring, Easter colours in which the hall was decorated.

"Lily!" He called as he came nearer to the table. Lily jumped and span around in shock. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was James. James winced inwardly. "Leaving?" He asked, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice. Lily's voice shook nervously as she answered.

"Err… yeah, I just… you know I'm a bit… tired." She trailed off, staring at James's face.

He walked right up to her and smiled softly, saying, "There's only three songs left… you can't leave now." There was a pleading tone to his words. Lily bit her lip.

"I'm just gonna be sitting here watching everybody anyway so…" The sadness in her voice sent pain straight through James's heart. Confidence appeared out of nowhere and he smiled hopefully.

"What if someone asked you to dance?" He asked. Lily blinked up at him.

"Um…" She was speechless. James chuckled and held out his hand, taking one final step towards her.

"Dance with me Lily?" He asked softly. Lily stared up and him in disbelief, then her lips curved into a shy smile. She nodded.

He led her to the dance floor, not caring if Sirius and Leila were watching them, and turned to face her. His hazel eyes met her bright green ones and the world was thrust into hazy slow-motion.

She gazed at his face for a moment before putting her arms round his neck. He put his hands nervously on her waist and they danced.

It lasted for just a little while, even in slow-motion. She tore her eyes away from his and stared at his shoulder.

Acting through impulse, James curled one arm slowly around her back and pulled her closer. She moved her head so it was resting on his shoulder and his vision went red.

Everything seemed to shut down inside him. Here he was, holding Lily Evans in his arms, with her hair, right in front of his face.

He raised the hand that wasn't curled round her back and took a lock of hair in it, running his fingers through the soft strands and wondering how on earth he had ever deserved this.

**X-x-X**

The world was in slow-motion. James was stroking her hair and she was leaning against his shoulder.

After what seemed like years of wondering how she ended up here, James pulled back slightly and their eyes met again.

And as soon as she saw the hazel eyes, gazing down at her, she finally realised why James Potter falling for her _now_ didn't add up.

Because he _hadn't_ fallen for her now. He'd fallen for her years ago, and she'd fallen for him now. She just hadn't realised. And when she did, she hadn't done anything about it.

But now she was doing something about it. It made sense, clearer than anything else had ever been to her.

James was leaning towards her… and she was leaning towards him. He was whispering something.

"I love you Lily."

And then he was kissing her. And _everything_ added up.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila and Sirius led the way back up to the common room with three other couples behind them. Lily and James were walking side by side at the back of their little line, holding hands. They hadn't spoken after the kiss, in fact they'd pretty much been ushered out by McGonagall before they'd had the chance. But for now they were content to walk in silence.

When they reached the common room Sirius whispered something in Leila's ear and she giggled before leaning up to kiss him. Rose and Remus and Jess and Peter said their goodnights, then the six of them dropped back to wait for Lily and James.

They stood facing each other. James smiled but before he could say anything Lily stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. It was a quick kiss and when they pulled apart she beamed and was dragged away by an excited looking Leila.

James stared after her and ignored Sirius' repeated call of "Prongs? Hello? Prongs?". The girls were at the foot of the staircase.

"Hey Lily!" He yelled suddenly. Lily turned around and James took a deep breath and carried on, because this time, he knew that the answer would be different. "Go out with me?"

Lily stared at him for several moments before her lips curved into a smile.

"Yes… James."

…

**A.N- **_Fiiiiiinally!!!!! Took him long enough! Doncha think???_

_Please review!!!!! Next chapter: __**Happy ……**__Warning: There will be A LOT of fluff!!!_

_Stay Tuned, it's not over yet!_

_Toff.x_


	32. Chapter 32: Happy!

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Two- Happy**

Lily woke up mid-morning on Sunday. She was the first up out of the four girls in the dorm. After a yawn and a stretch, memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. She grinned, a feeling of dizziness overcoming her.

Seeming to float instead of walk, she went to the bathroom and took a shower, taking extra time to wash her hair before changing into jeans and a plain, green tank top. With a quick charm her hair was dry and slightly curled at the ends. She slid a green headband on and took her emerald necklace from the side, sliding it into her pocket.

Then she went back to the dorm and peeked through the gap in the curtains. It was the most beautiful, sunny day, the grounds were bright and fresh. Lily sighed happily… and apparently quite loudly.

"Uurgh!" Leila groaned, waking up Rose in the process.

"Mmph!" She mumbled into her pillow. Jess yawned.

"Up? Now? What?" She slurred. Lily laughed at them. It was a high ringing round that echoed around the room loudly.

"Uurgh!" "Mmph!" "Lil-y!" Her roommates complained.

"Why are you even up at this hour?" Leila asked, trailing off into a yawn. Lily pouted and glanced at her watch.

"It's 10 o'clock. And you normally wake early."

"Uurgh!" Leila replied.

"I think she's on that crazy non-stop high thing that happens when a Marauder asks you out and you actually say yes." Jess sighed.

"Oh. That's great. Be high somewhere else!" Leila snapped sleepily. Lily laughed again (Uurgh! Mmph! Lily!).

"Ok. I'll see you guys later on!" She said chirpily.

"Mmph." Rose answered.

Lily sighed happily and skipped out of the dorm and down the stairs, only to find that she was not the only one who's decided to wake up 'early' before the dance.

James lounged against a couch, hands in pockets. He wore jeans and a dark red top with the sleeves rolled up. His glasses were slightly askew and his jet black hair was tousled.

Lily beamed at him and was rewarded with the Potter grin. She lightly crossed the room and came to hover in front of him. He smiled softly.

"How long have you been down here?" Lily asked slyly. James pursed his lips as if in thought. Then he grinned.

"Um… a little while." He said innocently. Lily laughed and James' eyes lit up happily.

"Why so early?" She asked curiously.

"Hmm, maybe it's the fact I knew I had a beautiful girlfriend who may also be up early… or maybe I just somehow knew that the house-elves are cooking an amazing breakfast feast this morning." He pretended to deliberate. Lily smiled at him and stepped closer.

"I love you." She chuckled. He smiled almost in awe and leant down to close the gap between them. She pulled herself closer to him and marvelled at how she managed to get this lucky.

When they drew apart James grinned mischievously, he took her hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world and tugged her after him, out of the common room. "Come on, I wanna show you something." He said excitedly. Lily giggled to herself as she allowed herself to be whisked through several corridors, secrets passageways and stairwells until she found herself in front of a portrait of fruit. James smiled happily at her and reached out to tickle the pear. To Lily's surprise, it laughed and the portrait swung open to reveal the Hogwarts Kitchens.

"Whoa." She whispered as James tugged her inside and they were swarmed by house elves, including the elf previously working at Potter Manor.

"Master Potter!"

"Good Morning Mr Potter Sir!"

"Can we get you anything Mr Potter Sir?"

"How is you doing today Mr Potter Sir?"

"Perhaps a goblet of pumpkin juice Mr Potter Sir?"

Lily blinked in alarm at all of the little elves. James smiled round at them all and addressed each of the ones that had asked him questions.

"Hey Cherly, good to see you've settled into Hogwarts. Morning Chorly. I'm doing well thanks Kady. Pumpkin juice would be nice actually Patty… Oh and Winnie!" James crouched down to whisper in the ear of one of the smallest elves. "By the way, make sure you get the lovely Miss Evans here a goblet too will you Patty."

Immediately the elves fell silent and turned to gape at Lily, making her blush.

"Miss Evans?" The one named Kady asked in awe.

"Your plan worked!" The one called Chorly exclaimed happily, turning to James. "Well done Mr Potter Sir we knew that you would be doing well!" James' cheeks tinted pink and he smiled guiltily at Lily.

"We is hearing a lot about Miss Evans." Patty the elf said, handing Lily a goblet.

"Oh." Lily said nervously.

"All good of course!" Winnie added, coming up to James and handing over a basket and another goblet. "Mr Potter is speaking of you often. Mr Black is complaining about it often too!" She laughed, it was a tiny tinkling sound, mimicked by many of the other elves.

"Um.. yeah… anyway. Me and Miss Evans will be going now." James took Lily's hand again and tugged her away once more. The elves tinkling laughter followed them, then faded as they went further away from the kitchens.

Lily giggled as he dragged her out onto the grounds and finally slowed down, his face still pink. "So Mr Potter Sir. What _have_ you been saying to make Sirius so upset?" Lily laughed as James' pink cheeks darkened further. Her laughter seemed to cheer him however and he took her to the Marauders' favourite spot by the lake, setting the basket down in between them. Lily leaned over to kiss his cheek and ruffle his hair.

He grinned cheekily and opened the basket to reveal a perfect little breakfast for two. Lily laughed delightedly. "I did say the house-elves were cooking an amazing breakfast!" He said. Lily laughed again and they both tucked in.

After about ten minutes of meandering conversation, Lily sighed loudly. James glanced at her questioningly.

"You know, I'm going to have to repay you for this." She mused. James chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Lily you don't need to-" He was abruptly cut off by Lily's lips. He felt her body press against his and ran his hand through her hair. Lily felt his lips curve into a smile under her own. When she drew apart ever so slightly for air, James moved his lips to her ear and whispered into it, making Lily shiver.

"By the way… I love you too."

**X-x-X-x-X**

The sun was three quarters of a way down and the sky was tinted pink. The Marauders and their girls were caught up playing a very loud, very dramatic and very immature game of tag. And Leila was in.

"OH COME _ON_! I SO GOT YOU! COME BACK HERE YOU!" She screeched, chasing Sirius as fast as she could. Sirius's barking laughter echoed around the virtually empty grounds.

"Sure you did." He chuckled over his shoulder.

"I DID!" Leila cried. She lunged forwards to grab Sirius but he dodged sideways and turned around, grabbing Leila's wrist and pulling her in closer.

"I know." He murmured at the suddenly breathless Leila, his lips centimetres from hers. "That's why I said sure." Then he drew Leila into a long, passionate kiss, holding her close until he felt her body go limp against his. Then he drew apart and smiled at the dreamy expression on his girlfriend's face. He kissed her forehead gently, then quite suddenly, dropped her and ran away yelling "TAG!"

Leila squealed and fell backwards onto the ground.

"NO FAIR!" She shouted angrily. "THAT WAS SO CHEATING!!" Sirius just laughed.

"Haha, loser." She heard James chuckled as he sprinted past, she heard Lily and Jess laughing to her left.

"Hey Leila! Behind you!" Remus suddenly yelled. Leila spun round, panicked, only to see… nothing.

"What the- ARGH!" She screamed and jumped up to her feet as something small and furry climbed over her foot. A split second later the rat was Peter, running away from her and laughing loudly. Leila pouted as everyone laughed at her expense.

Gritting her teeth, she chased Peter straight towards the lake. Remus grinned mischievously, then out of nowhere, Peter was swimming.

"Woo! High Five!" Leila exclaimed, holding up one hand. Remus slapped it with his own and Leila cackled. "TAG!" She sung cheerfully before darting away.

Meanwhile, Peter came up to the surface, spluttering.

"Pff! Moony! Whatever happened to Marauder Unity?" He asked. Remus pretended to think about it, but obviously thought a little too long because soon enough there was a loud, cheerful bark and a large black dog collided into Remus's back.

And that's how Sirius, Remus and Peter ended up sopping wet and roaring with laughter. "You do realise this means you're it?" Remus told Sirius who was a human once more. Sirius made a fist and slapped it against the water good-naturedly.

"Drat!" He exclaimed in a posh voice, while splashing Peter with his fist.

James ran up to the edge of the lake and paused to laugh at them but pretty soon Lily had pushed him in.

"No!" James cried in horror. "Lily! And in the shallow part too!" He pouted. "I thought you liked me!" Lily grinned cheekily and her eyes sparkled.

"Oh I like you James Potter." She purred. "I like you a lot."

"And then there were three." Rose sighed to Jess as Lily fell forwards into the water to snog James.

"Right… three." Leila smirked and Rose and Jess squealed as they were pushed into the deep end. Leila laughed and started up a silly little dance.

"I'm dry and you're not! I'm dry and you're not! Na na na na na!"

"ARGH! LEILA! HELP!" Sirius suddenly cried from further out in the lake. "They're ganging up on me! It's not fair!" He looked back at Leila with puppy dog eyes and Remus and Peter kept on splashing him from all sides.

"Oh fine." Leila sighed before kicking off her shoes, socks and jacket and running into the water, diving in Sirius's direction.

A few seconds later she surfaced, gasping. "MERLIN! It's _cold_!" Remus and Peter stopped attacking Sirius to laugh at her. Sirius yelled triumphantly.

"YAY! I'm free!" He cried, swimming towards Leila and hugging her from behind. Leila smiled at him.

"Look!" Lily cried suddenly. And everyone turned to look over at Lily (still in the shallows with James), then up at the sky where she was looking.

The sky was a deep indigo and littered in stars and a few silvery looking clouds.

"Wow." Sirius whispered into Leila's ear. Leila smiled and leant her head on his shoulder.

And for the first time, since before the beginning of the year, each and every one of the Gryffindor Seventh Years' were truly happy.

.

.

_**A.N-**__Aww! Fluffy much? Though you know you love it! And so do I! But just to clarify! You should remind me in a review! ;)_

_Siriusly though, I love this chapter, just because everyone's so cheerful!_

_Next chapter: __**Being there… and not**__it's not quite so fluffy I'm afraid… see you next time!_

_Toff..x_


	33. Chapter 33: Being there And not

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Three- Being there… and not **

Jess hummed a recent muggle song as she meandered down the corridor, on her way outside to meet the others. She was just ducking into a shortcut hallway that Peter had shown her -smiling to herself along the way- when she heard someone yell her name.

"HEY PARKER!" She frowned and turned around, only to see the entrance of the shortcut close at the same time as feeling a painful jolt in her chest and being airborne in a matter of seconds. She yelped loudly and slammed into the other door into the passage.

"Ahh.." She winced and squeezed her eyes shut. But when she opened them she found herself cornered by three Slytherin boys. Avery, Mulciber and Snape. "Oh." She managed before her wand flew out of her hand and into Snape's. No one had said a word.

Jess winced to herself. _Oh great, silent spells, just the thing I can't do._

Jess had never been good in defence against the dark arts. It was her biggest weakness. And right now, it was going to cost her.

"What're you doing in here, _Mudblood_?" Avery sneered, obviously leader of the small group.

"Just taking a shortcut." Jess said weakly, ashamed at how vulnerable she sounded.

"A shortcut!" Avery snorted. "No one takes shortcuts through _this_ passage, _especially_ not mudbloods!"

"Well I do." Jess said, trying to sound brave, though her voice shook.

"Oh yeah? Well we're not so happy about that, Mudblood, so you better get lost or we'll hex you out." Snape said snidely. Jess thought back to Snape and Regulas talking at the beginning of the term. She glanced at the nasty expressions on the other boys' faces, then around the room.

Now that he mentioned it, she didn't recognise the passage… maybe she'd picked the wrong one..

On one side of the passage (behind Mulciber), was a cauldron with a foul smelling potion in it. Next to that was a copy of the Daily Prophet with a picture of the Dark Mark on top of a muggle house blazing on the front page. Jess shivered.

_Death Eaters… _She scowled at Avery.

"Fine, I'll leave. But I want my wand." She said, already planning the fasted route to Dumbledore's office. Avery sneered and Mulciber laughed nastily.

"Oh, you're not getting this back." Snape said cruelly, his greasy hair shining grossly in the dim green light that was coming from the potion. Jess grimaced.

"And I don't think we should let you leave either." Avery added with another cruel grin. Jess's stomach dropped.

Oh no.

"Levicorpus!" Snape said, hexing Jess with her own wand. She yelped and she tipped upside down, her skirt slipping down so it was around her shoulders. She went pink and hastily pushed it back up towards her feet, thankful that she was at least wearing some shorts, even if they were tiny and rather tight. Mulciber and Avery sniggered. Snape hissed at her and her body stiffened, her hands clutching her skirt and her eyes wide and scared.

If she could, she would be whimpering. This was exactly the type of situation she tried to avoid at all costs… Which is precisely why she'd taken a secret passage, to avoid trouble.

Perhaps if she weren't in such discomfort, it would be something James and Sirius would find amusing.

But it wasn't amusing. It was uncomfortable and painful and humiliating.

Avery laughed. "Hey Snape, why don't you try doing that new curse of yours; Sectusemp- Argh!" Avery stiffened and went pale. Both Jess's and Snape's wand flew out of Snape's hand.

"Leave her alone!" Someone said in an indignant tone. Jess's heart leapt; Peter! "Expelliarmus!" Peter added, taking Avery and Mulciber's wands. Avery growled angrily and Snape sneered.

"Why should we Pettigrew?" Mulciber snapped angrily.

"Because I'm the one with the wand." Peter said rather smugly. "And McGonagall's on her way right now."

Avery was quite suddenly horrified and Mulciber looked nervous. Even Snape looked slightly perturbed.

Peter cast a quick levitating spell on the Slytherins' wand and magicked them away with a flick of his wrist.

"They should be on the third floor." He told them. Avery glowered and started out of the passage, motioning for Snape to follow.

"I'll get you for this Pettigrew!" Avery spat at Peter, before the three of them left for good. Peter waited a little while before running over to Jess.

After a few tries, he managed to get the body bind off and Jess yelped, struggling to keep her skirt up. Peter grinned cheekily.

"It's Ok, you can leave it down if you want." He suggested innocently. Jess rolled her eyes and gave him a mock-stern look. Peter laughed. "You're cute upside down." He told her matter-of-factly. She blushed. Peter smiled at her and undid the spell holding her upside-down with ease.

Jess regained her balance and shook her head dizzily. Peter returned her wand and she smiled warmly at him.

"Thanks for doing that." She said shyly. Peter smiled proudly.

"That's Ok. I'll always be here." He glanced around. "How did you get here anyway? This passage is one of the really big secrets of Hogwarts…"

"I though it was that secret passage you showed me that went to the grounds." Jess said, looking around her uneasily.

"What?" Peter frowned, "No. That's on the ground floor."

"Oh." Jess pursed her lips, thinking of what the Slytherins were doing in here. "…Pete, I think…" She swallowed, "I think they were doing something for you-know-who!" Peter frowned at her, looking worried.

"Are you sure?"

"Well… I think so, I mean, Professor McGonagall could probably tell us once she arrives." Peter half-smiled.

"Um, actually, McGonagall's not coming. I just said that to make Avery panic." He grinned mischievously, just like Leila and James often did. Jess didn't smile. Peter sighed. "Look, they're Slytherins; always up to something bad. And they're still in school.. so even if they were doing _something_ to do with You-Know-Who, I doubt they'd be able to do that much to help."

Jess thought about this. Peter was probably right. But still, she couldn't help wondering…

"Come on Jess, I know a secret passage we could stop by on our way to the grounds." He wiggled his eyebrows and Jess giggled, momentarily forgetting the Slytherins.

"Mmm, I like the sound of that!"

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila and Sirius were sitting by the lake, under the shadow of a large rock that students sometimes used as a diving platform into the lake. Remus and Rose were sitting along the edge of the lake with their feet half in the water. James was sitting on top of the rock above his cousin, watching Lily as she read beside him, completely immersed in the book. James's smile was a touch dreamy. It had only been six days since they'd officially become a couple.

Sirius was trying to study, but there were too many distractions. The light, refreshing breeze. The sun on the back of his neck, which he was sure was burning. The irritating sighs of James as he tried to distract Lily while she read. The small splashes of Remus and Rose's feet in the lake. And of course, the beautiful girl, sitting beside him.

Leila knew exactly what effect she was having on her boyfriend, the moment he put down his book with an air of finality and announced; "Ok. I give up. I can't concentrate on charms with you distracting me!", but, in true Potter style, Leila decided to tease him.

She looked up innocently from the chocolate wrapper she was wiping bits of melted chocolate off of with her finger.

"Me? Oh! Want some?" She said with an innocent smile that she knew would drive Sirius crazy. She offered the wrapper to Sirius with one hand and licking melted chocolate off of a finger of the other. Sirius gazed at her hungrily.

"Ooh yes." He said, Leila grinned cheekily and scooted back a foot away from him.

"Then come and get it!" She smeared a bit of chocolate across her lip and leapt up, running away from him. Sirius made a sound that much resembled a dog whining before jumping up and chasing after her. There was much laughing and running in circles before he finally grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, pressing his lips to hers.

He pulled her in closer so that her body was pressed right up against his and tugged her hair out of it's ponytail, taking in the taste of chocolate and scent of cinnamon.

"Owl." Peter's voice said. Sirius pulled away from Leila and glared over her head at Peter and Jess who were just arriving.

"Can you just let us snog in peace for once?" He said in an annoyed voice.

"But Leila… her owl…" Jess pointed to the ground near Leila where an owl sat patiently with an envelope in it's beak. Sirius sagged in disappointment but Leila smiled and put one hand on the back of his neck, kissing him anyway. She felt his lips turn up in a smile against hers.

"Hey! That's Dad's owl, not Leila's!" James cried from the top of the rock.

Leila and Sirius drew apart once more, they both glared at James who was frowning and pointing at the owl. Lily looked up from her book. Leila glanced at the owl herself; James was right, it was his dad's owl, but the large envelope was addressed to her.

"I think you'd better open it." Said Remus grimly from the lakeside. Leila sighed and rolled off of Sirius. Remus and Rose had joined them and Lily and James started to climb down from the rock, James finding it easier than Lily and jumping down with ease.

Leila took the envelope and the owl flew away. She frowned and tore open the thick parchment. One single piece drifted out of the package, Leila read the first line;

_The last Will and Testament of_

_Tiberus and Catherine Potter_

All of the colour in her face drained out.

"James." She whispered.

"Yo." James said, arriving with the group, not seeming to notice the worried glances that Sirius, Remus, Rose, Peter and Jess were giving his cousin. Leila wordlessly handed the parchment over. Sirius took her hand concernedly but her face remained still and expressionless.

She watched as James read the first line. His eyes went all funny and unfocused for a second and his skin went an unhealthy shade of grey. He looked once up at his friends.

"James are you o- James!" Lily had just joined the group when James suddenly span around and sprinted away towards the castle. Leila was after him in an instant.

The parchment fluttered to the ground and Sirius picked it up and read aloud.

"The last Will and Testament of Tiberus and… Oh Merlin." He too went pale. Everyone else caught on and Remus took out a tattered piece of parchment, muttered something and passed it to Sirius.

"Towards the kitchens." He said grimly. Sirius nodded, passed the envelope and Will to Peter before grabbing Lily's wrist and running after the Potter's. It looked like their happiness had been temporary after all.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"James, where are you going?" Leila yelled after her cousin.

"You can floo from the kitchens." James muttered, as if to himself.

"What?!"

"I can go now! And help them!" James said, quickening his pace and ignoring the stares he was attracting.

"Are you out of your mind! These are death eaters James! They'll kill you!" Leila screeched. James stopped and whirled around to face her.

"We only just got the letter! They might be alive still! I can fight! They might survive!" He had a wild look in his eyes that scared Leila.

"But James this is death eaters we're talking about! They'll. _Kill_. You!" Leila said urgently, her eyes panicked.

"They won't! I'll fight! I'll survive! _They'll _survive! Mum and Dad! They'll be Ok! I just need to-"

"James!" Leila grabbed her cousins wrist and looked him straight in the eye. "It's too late… I'm sorry."

James stared at her and she watched as the wild hope in his eyes changed to shock as he registered what she meant. He kept staring at her, his face very slowly crumpling until Leila thought he might collapse…

"James!" "Leila!"

In a blur of red and black hair, Sirius and Lily appeared, Sirius going straight to Leila and taking her into his arms and Lily catching James (with some difficulty) and holding him as he let it all sink in.

Several long minutes later, McGonagall, Peter, Jess, Remus and Rose arrived to find the two couples in exactly the same positions;

Lily and James in a tangled embrace with James' shoulders shuddering weakly and Leila and Sirius wrapped in each other's arms, both somehow too shocked to cry for the loss of the two people that had taken them in when they had no one else.

**A.N- **_… Oh dear, now we're in trouble. Sorry folks, we're dipping out of the fluff and into the war! Sorry for the lack of update, Easter and moving house caught up with me. Oh and Happy Easter by the way, to all who celebrate it._

_Stay Tuned there's LOADS more to come! Next chapter: __**Back at the Manor**_

_Hehe, Toff.x_


	34. Chapter 34: Back at the Manor

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Four- Back at the Manor**

Peter tumbled clumsily onto the ash strewn mat that lay in front of the fireplace in the kitchen of Potter Manor. He straightened up and stepped onto the smooth stone floor. The warming charm that Mrs Potter used to cast over it was fading; it usually lasted a few days.

The 7th year Gryffindors had been taken to Dumbledore's office after McGonagall had found Leila, Sirius, Lily and James in the hallway outside the kitchens. But Dumbledore hadn't been able to tell them much other than what they'd already guessed. He'd said that they'd be able to take the last 3 days of school off if they wished. Peter, Jess, Remus and Rose would be staying at school, agreeing that they should leave the other four alone for a few days. But for now, they were all staying the afternoon at the auror-surrounded Potter Manor. James and Leila had the choice of returning to Hogwarts and staying in a guest suite if they didn't want to stay at the Manor or in their dorms.

In the corner of the room was a small wooden stool where a house-elf sat. The creature's eyes were red and watery and their ears were quivering. They were pinching their own arm and wincing in pain muttering "Cherly must not feel so grieved over mistress's death. Mistress would not want Cherly to be upset."

Peter scanned the room. An auror was standing outside the window, glancing in every few seconds. Jess, Remus and Rose were clustered solemnly by the kitchen table, watching the other four.

Leila had collapsed into a chair and her face was buried in her hands. Sirius was sitting beside her, one hand resting comfortingly on his girlfriend's back and another balled into a fist, shaking and resting on the table. James had frozen, just to the left of the fireplace and was staring around the room. His shoulders were shaking and Lily stood nearby, holding his hand. Peter doubted whether James knew she was there at all.

"Cherly must not be so upset. Cherly shouldn't be crying so…" The house-elf was muttering.

"Cry all you want." James croaked, speaking for the first time in a few hours.

"W-wha-? Cherly shouldn't!" Cherly the house-elf said, shaking her little head. James just looked at her, his shoulders shaking.

"I- you shouldn't- ah who cares anyway." James took a shuddering breath and shrugged Lily off, walking out of the room. Leila looked up and seemed to register the other people around her.

"Maybe I should-"

"Nah. Leave him alone for a bit." Remus interrupted. Everyone turned to look at him. He looked back sadly. "You must remember this bit." He said, with meaningful glances at Rose, Peter and Leila, "It's hard work, losing parents… you need time alone."

Leila, sobbed and pulled her feet up onto her chair so that she could put her face in her knees. Rose went pale and Peter felt a horrible jolt in the pit of his stomach. An image of his father crept into his mind. Remus cast his eyes to floor.

"Sorry." He murmured. He left the room. Rose let out a wimpery breath before following him, somewhat reluctantly. Sirius hesitated, glancing at the shivering form of Leila. He tried putting his hand on her back again but it just made her sob so he gave up, shot an apologetic glance at Lily and left. Peter and Jess fled the room aswell along with Cherly the house-elf. Lily's face was plagued with grief, guilt and worry.

Before they left, Jess hesitated, looked at Lily, pointed at Leila and mouthed 'she needs you' before tugging Peter out of the room behind her.

**X-x-X**

Lily watched her friend cry with a horrible, torn expression on her face. Leila sobbed and looked up, showing eyes overflowing with tears.

"I-I'm sorry." She sniffled.

"It's Ok." Lily said softly, shaking her head. Leila tried to look at her evenly but her heart got the better of her and she closed her eyes. Tears leaked out and fell down her cheeks. Lily's expression softened and Leila leant onto her friend's shoulder as the red-head sat down in the chair that Sirius had sat in.

They sat in silence for a while, Lily murmuring nonsense while Leila waited for her tears to run dry. Eventually they did and Leila sat up straight, taking a tissue that Lily was offering.

"Where did Sirius go?" She asked quietly.

"Dunno. He thought you didn't need him." Lily replied.

"That's not true." Leila's voice was soft. She crumpled the tissue in her hand.

"I know."

"He thinks it's his fault."

"What?" Lily raised her eyebrows and stared at Leila in shock. "How could it possibly be his fault?"

"He thinks that the death eaters in his family are trying to get back at him for leaving them. He thinks that they want to kill off our families so he'll go back, to save us." Leila took a deep breath. "He told me at Christmas… by the lake." Lily nodded, knowing perfectly well what had happened 'by the lake'.

"What did you say?"

"I just told him that it wasn't his fault."

"That's all?"

"Yeah."

"And he believed you?"

"Yeah… why?"

"He normally doesn't agree with people that easily." Lily smiled and Leila grinned. It was good to see the Potter grin again.

"It must be a gift… James can do it too." Leila said, without thinking. Lily's smile faded. James… "He'll be Ok, he's just… well this is new to him. Until he was 11, his parents were all he knew, that's long enough to get pretty attached." Leila smiled sadly.

"What about you and your da-" Lily stopped.

"Me and my dad?" Leila said, "Well we weren't around all the time. We lived in Italy, after all!"

"I guess… it's just… all those years of seeing James as an arrogant toe-rag… I never thought I'd see him cry." Lily shook her head. Leila laughed.

"You didn't know him as a little kid!" She grinned, but it didn't last long, "But really… I think he just… he's proud, you know, proud and determined. He was planning on flooing here before, to fight the death eaters. He refused to believe that they were really… really… gone."

"Maybe I should go and see if he's Ok."

"Nah, Remus was right… he needs to be alone. Trust me, he'll find you."

**X-x-X**

James locked himself in his room and leant against the door, breathing in long, rasping sobs. Tears stained his cheeks. He slid to floor like he had back at Hogwarts and flicked his wand over his shoulder, sound-proofing the room.

He waited for his breathing to return to normal before properly looking at his room.

The walls were covered with posters, photos and scarlet and gold banners. Each one somehow reminded him of his parents.

The bed was neatly made… Cherly would have done that. The whole room was tidy, and he could tell that it was his mother who had cleaned it. He stood unsteadily and walked to his bed. A long, thin package was on the bed. A note was attached.

**To James,**

**If anything happens, I want you to have this**

**You might not use it. It's pretty old. But you know how much it meant to me**

**Love Dad**

James blinked and turned to the package. It was a horribly familiar shape. He reached out a hand and ripped the paper off of one end to reveal a smooth, thin wooden pole… no, not pole, _handle_.

Tears stabbed at the back of James' eyes as he pulled off the rest of the paper, realisation slowly hitting him.

It was his father's most prized possession. His broomstick. It was old, well-used and not at all very good, but somehow it made sure that Tiberus Potter won every game of quidditch he played. James knew that it had only ever worked for his father, and upon seeing the familiar object, it really hit him.

His parents were gone. Forever. They were never coming back.

His parents had left him alone, to fend for himself in the middle of a raging war.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He turned and ran from his room, going into the nearest spare bedroom that Sirius didn't inhabit. He didn't notice, nor care that it was Uncle Andrew's old room. Instead he slammed the door shut and flung himself onto the bed. He wasn't crying, for he had no tears left. He just lay there, his head buried in the soft covers that smelt faintly of something like garlic.

**X-x-X**

Sirius slipped quietly through the house, entering the library but not sitting down. He didn't want to settle down like everyone else was doing. He wanted to wander around and think. He'd already walked around the whole house and he knew where everyone was. James had run from his room to a spare room, slamming two doors. Sirius had been wandering down the hall when it happened. James hadn't seen him and obviously didn't want to so Sirius had just moved on quietly.

Remus was in the living room, with a book under his nose that he wasn't reading. Rose was dozing off next to him, her breath shaky and uneven.

Peter was sitting in the music room, looking depressed and pressing down random keys on the piano that Mrs Potter used to play for the Marauders when they used to visit, way back when Sirius still lived at Grimmauld Place and Leila still lived in Italy.

Jess was writing a letter in that same room, Sirius suspected it was to her mother.

Leila and Lily were still in the kitchen, Sirius had heard them laughing a bit, and talking in low voices, but both still seemed to be upset and Lily kept glancing around in case James decided to come down.

Cherly the house-elf was curled up in the cupboard under the stairs, sobbing and pinching herself.

"Oi! Sirius!" Sirius turned around, looking for the source of the voice. It was coming from the window. He walked towards it and saw Fabian Prewett standing outside, grinning and wearing auror robes. Sirius opened the window and gave him a small smile.

"Hey Fabian." He said.

"Hi. You Ok?"

"Yeah. Not as bad as Prongs anyway…" He grimaced. Fabian bit his lip.

"Hmm. Losing parents is tough. He's gonna be hard to get through to him over the next couple of weeks."

"Yeah. But at least he's got Lils now." Sirius half-smiled.

"Those two finally got together?" Fabian asked, thinking back to the Christmas party.

"Yeah… 'bout a week ago. I think that's why this hit James so hard. He was so happy about finally being with Lily and then… we got the letter…" Sirius trailed off and silence ensued for a little while.

"Poor guy." Sighed Fabian. "At least he's got better friends than I had." Sirius looked at him questioningly. "My friends avoided me till I got over it… 'cept Marly, but that's different, we started going out about a month later so… anyway, I had no company at Hogwarts besides Marly and at home well… we had move in with our Aunt Muriel. Gideon locked himself away in his room and wouldn't speak. Molly came to stay but she spent all her time with Arthur and she had two toddlers to look after, one two and another four… and no one can keep track of Charlie at the best of times. So here I am, stuck in the house with no company and Aunt Muriel watching my every move. I think it's safe to say that James has better friends than I did."

"Yeah." Sirius stared at the floor. More silence.

"Oi Fabian!" someone from the other side of the house called.

"Yup!" Fabian called back. The person calling appeared next to him. It was Gideon, he was wearing his ministry robes but Sirius didn't think he was here for work, from the casual expression on his face.

"Hey Sirius…" He nodded before turning back to his brother "Molly wants to see us."

"How come?"

"Says she's got an 'announcement'" Gideon rolled his eyes.

"Last time she said that she was pregnant with Percy, and the time before that Charlie was born." Fabian said suspiciously. Gideon grimaced good-naturedly.

"Yeah… that's why we should probably go and see her…" He grinned. Fabian looked uncertain.

"But my shift…"

"Kingsley's replacing you. Your only a beginner auror anyway, your absence isn't going to mean much."

"Thanks." Fabian said sarcastically, but he followed his brother all the same. "Seeya Sirius!"

"Bye." Sirius mumbled before closing the window, frowning and sinking into an armchair.

There was a family so wrapped up in the war it was painful… but somehow they managed to laugh about it and get on with their lives. Sirius only hoped that he and his friends would be able to do the same.

**A.N- **_Hmmm… poor James. It will get better from now on, but like I said… less fluff._

_Stay Tuned for the next chapter: Helping out_

_Review please!_

_Toff.x_


	35. Chapter 35: Helping Out

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Five- Helping out**

Leila laughed softly at an annoyed comment Lily had made about the auror who kept glancing inside to see what they were doing.

She looked up at the clock. It had been 2 hours since they'd all split up. There was a light knock on the door.

"Come in." Leila said quietly. A messy haired, hazel eyed head poked around the doorway. It scanned the room and it's eyes settled on Lily who stood completely still, facing the window, not looking round. Leila stood up and left the room without a word…

**X-x-X**

"Lils?" James slipped into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. Lily didn't move, she didn't want to look at him, she was afraid of what she'd see. "Lily?" The pain in his voice bought tears to her eyes, she wiped them away hurriedly. This was his time to be sad, she had to be strong for him.

Strong arms slid round her from behind. She wanted to lean into them, to let herself cry into him. But she didn't. She turned around and looked up at his eyes and tried to keep her own free of tears.

His hair was flat, still messy, but flat. It didn't stick up at the back the way it usually did. His glasses were lopsided and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. His expression was hard to describe. Lily bit her lip and took a deep breath. James Potter was a mess.

His arms were still around her. She reached up and ran a hand through his hair, she wasn't sure why but it seemed to help. He tightened his arms around her and propped his chin on her shoulder, burying his face in her hair. Lily put both arms around his neck and continued to run her hands through his hair. They stayed like that for a while.

"He left me his broomstick." James said after a while. Lily's breath caught. She nodded against his chest to acknowledge him. "His old one… his… his prized possession… it's mine."

"Of course it's yours. Who else would he give it to?" Lily murmured, tilting her head up to look at him.

"He always said he'd give it to Uncle Andrew." James whispered. Lily stiffened. Uncle Andrew: Leila's dad.

"Oh."

"Leila should have it… not me." To Lily's horror, James started to tremble, his voice shook. She rubbed his back soothingly.

"He gave it to you James." She said calmly. James just nodded. His arms loosened. He moved his head slightly so that his eyes were squeezed tight and pressed against Lily's shoulder. She tightened her grip on him and stopped running her hand through his hair so that she could just hold him while he cried. He was sobbing and mumbling things, Lily didn't even know if she wanted to know what he was saying.

"…Gone… left me… I'll never see them again… they're just… they're gone…"

"Shhh." Lily whispered. And she felt her own tears coming again.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila wandered through the house. She stopped outside her father's old room and stared into it. The bedspread was messy. That was odd. She walked inside and saw tiny splotches of water on the pillow.

James had been in here… The only room aside from Leila's that wouldn't directly remind him of his parents. Leila picked up a pillow and breathed in the scent of her father. A hint of garlic and a clean smell that reminded her vaguely of a hospital.

There was a knock on the door. Leila span around to see Sirius looking dishevelled. When he saw Leila his eyes softened and he gave her a quiet smile.

"Hey beautiful." He said softly. His voice was unbearably fragile and sad. Tears sprung to her eyes.

"Hi Sirius." She said, her own voice quaking. He walked into the room and pulled the pillow out of her hands. She slid her hands around his back. He stroked her hair comfortingly.

"It's not fair." Sirius said gently. Leila looked up at him questioningly. "Here's me, hating my family. And then there's all my friend's, who love their families. And they're the ones who get killed."

"I'm sorry." Leila whispered.

"What for?"

"You're always saying how James and I are your family… yet here we are, all miserable and claiming that we have no family left…"

"But you don't." Sirius said, "You're my family… but I was never yours… not completely."

"You'll find them." Leila murmured. Just as she had done by the lake at Christmas. Once again, she didn't know quite what she meant… but it helped.

"I love you Leila." Sirius said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Love you too." She murmured. And the pair went back to grieving…

**X-x-X-x-X**

That evening, as the sun was setting, Dumbledore arrived. Everyone was waiting for him in silence, sitting around the kitchen table. James was completely still and had his head down. Lily was holding his hand. Leila and Sirius sat next to each other, her head on his shoulder. The other four sat normally, feeling tired and desperately wanting to go back to their school dormitories and sleep. Cherly the house-elf had stopped crying and was sitting in another chair at James's request.

There was a soft 'pop' and Dumbledore appeared in the middle of the room.

"Ah. Good evening everyone." He said pleasantly. James's head rose as everyone murmured greetings. "I trust you are all ready for a warm bed and good nights sleep?" He asked kindly. Everyone nodded and mumbled replies. "Well I won't be at Hogwarts after this so Professor McGonagall will be attending to you from then onwards. Unless of course, any of you wish to stay elsewhere for the night." He looked meaningfully at James.

James looked around at everyone else's tired faces. He knew that they expected him to answer for the group, but he really wasn't up to taking his usual, leadership role right now.

"I… could I maybe stay at Hogwarts and come back here when… when I'm… feeling better?" He offered weakly.

"Of course. And would you like a guest suite organised for you or would you rather stay with your fellow Gryffindors in the Tower?" He asked.

"C-could I stay in a suite?" He asked. Dumbledore nodded and looked expectantly at everyone else.

"I'll stay with James." Lily said quietly.

"So will we." Sirius said, Leila nodding at his side.

"I think I should get back to the Tower, ready for classes tomorrow." Rose said uncertainly, glancing worriedly at James who nodded understandingly yet somewhat wearily. Remus, Jess and Peter all agreed to do that aswell.

"That's quite alright. I'm assuming that Miss Evans, Mr Black and Miss and Mr Potter will want to skip the remaining classes of the term. James glanced at everyone. Lily had her eyes on Dumbledore but squeezed James's hand. Sirius nodded firmly but Leila looked unsure. She glanced at James and saw the pleading in his eyes before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Yes Sir." She said. James felt both guilty and relieved. On one hand he wanted to make sure that Leila got over it in her own time but he didn't think he could take the pressure of classes and head boy work and he didn't want to go through the few days of recovery without Leila. Besides, they'd all be back at school by the end of the Easter holidays, right? It was only three days to go anyway.

"Ok then. I trust you can make your own way back to Hogwarts through the kitchens where Professor McGonagall will meet you. Unless you wish to stay here a bit longer." Dumbledore made the offer in a voice that suggested that he knew that no one would want to do that.

"No. Let's just go." James croaked. Dumbledore nodded calmly.

"Then there is just one more matter to see to; your house-elf." He gestured to Cherly who whimpered and looked up nervously. "Would you mind if she were to work in the kitchens at Hogwarts?"

"No Sir. That'd be fine." James said, glancing at his once chirpy house-elf.

"Is that Ok with you Cherly?" Dumbledore asked kindly. Cherly nodded, eyes wide and fearful. "Then you may go in your own time. You obviously could stay here for a while if you wish." Cherly nodded again and didn't move. "Then I shall see the eight of you soon."

**X-x-X-x-X**

The guest suite was more like an inbuilt house. It had four bedrooms, a lounge, a kitchen with no food in it but a floo connection to the school kitchens and a large bathroom. Sirius had arrived, flooed the kitchen for a few supplies, and made himself a hot chocolate. Sensing that no one else wanted anything, he stored the food away, smiled at Lily, put a comforting hand on James's shoulder, whispered something in Leila's ear and kissed her before retreating to a bedroom with his steaming mug.

Leila gave James a hug and murmured something to him before finding her own room.

"Are you Ok?" Lily asked James once they were alone in the lounge. James nodded. "Are you sure? Do you want anything?"

"No thanks. I'm fine." James said quietly, staring at the wall.

"Okay." Lily said. She didn't want to leave, but didn't think there was anything that James needed from her right now. She was just contemplating going to bed when James spoke in a croaky, low voice.

"Why does everyone rely on _me_?" Lily was taken aback. He looked up at her, eyes shining with worry and grief. She stepped towards him and put a hand on his cheek, a sad expression on her face.

"James." She began softly, gazing into the saddened depths of his beautiful hazel eyes, "Because you're the most reliable. Because you always seem to know what to do. Because you know us all inside out.. Because… because you're just good at it." She ran her fingers through his hair, brushed her lips over his and turned away. "Goodnight James."

She hoped she'd done the right thing. She hoped it had helped. Just a little bit.

**X-x-X**

James stared after Lily. He knew she was right. But it was just so _hard_. He wanted her to come back but knew that once she was here he'd just want to be alone again. So he sat on the large, comfy sofa, curled up and went to sleep.

**A.N- **_Poor James. It's really hard for me to write these grieving scenes... Please be kind. I would love feedback on them!!_

_Next Chapter: __**In a Dream**_

_Review and Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	36. Chapter 36: In a Dream

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Six- In a Dream**

Leila couldn't sleep. It was cold and she was shivering. She was so tired but she felt that even if she did get to sleep, she'd just have terrible nightmares and end up alone in the dark.

Alone…

She shuddered. One of her worst fears was being alone, with no one to care for her, and no one for her to care for. Maybe that was how James felt now?? But no, he has Lily. Lily will stay with him and she won't leave unless she knows that it's better for him that way.

_And Sirius would do the same for me. _Said the reassuring part of Leila's mind.

So she wasn't alone… Still shivering from the cold, she snuck out of bed and tip-toed out to the hallway and into Sirius's room.

He was on his side, his legs sprawled across the mattress. His face was relaxed and peaceful in sleep. Leila almost didn't want to wake him.

She reached out and gently stroked his cheek with the back of her finger. He frowned in his sleep and his eyes fluttered open. Leila pursed her lips guiltily as he stared blearily up at her.

"Leila?" he asked, his voice tired and confused. Leila had to smile at the look on his face. He was so cute… "Am I dreaming?" He asked suspiciously. Leila smiled again and shook her head.

"I was cold and couldn't sleep." She said quietly. Sirius frowned.

"Cold? It's bloody boiling in here." Leila shook her head to disagree, then shivered for effect. Sirius smirked at her, though his eyes were soft. He lifted up the side of his duvet and scooted over. Leila sighed in thanks and climbed into the bed beside him. Sirius slid his arms round her waist and pulled her close. He was warm, and, Leila realized, topless. But that didn't matter now.

"I didn't like being alone." She whispered fearfully. "I was scared."

"You're not alone." Sirius promised, taking a lock of her hair and tucking it gently behind her ear. "I'm here."

Leila snuggled closer and buried her face in his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her and Leila began to relax.

She wasn't alone, and she knew now that she could sleep in peace.

**X-x-X**

The next morning, Leila and Sirius woke at dawn. Leila sighed, still tired and curled into a ball. Sirius smiled at her and pressed his lips to her forehead before getting up and slipping his dressing gown on.

"Just going to get a drink." He whispered to Leila. She mumbled something Sirius didn't quite catch in reply and Sirius smiled. Maybe Gideon and Fabian Prewett had taught him something… For despite the most recent unexpected turn of events, Sirius felt strangely happy.

Unfortunately, James wasn't too lucky.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"James." A voice said softly. James tried to get away but cold water was swallowing him up. "James!" The voice said urgently. But James didn't listen. He was swimming, drowning, but he knew that if he did this, he'd see his parents. They'd been calling him. He'd seen them from the shore. "JAMES!" He couldn't breath. "JAMES WAKE UP!"

With a crash he hit the floor and found himself looking up at his best friend. Sirius looked stricken and tired.

"Whoa, don't do that Prongs. You had me scared there." He said worriedly.

"Padfoot?" James said groggily.

"Hey, feeling Ok?" Sirius helped James get onto the sofa and patted him on the back. "You want some hot chocolate?" He asked. James nodded vaguely.

As Sirius left he tried to remember what he'd just been dreaming about but it was all a blur. All he could remember was standing at the shore of his lake at home and seeing his parents standing on an island in the middle, calling for him. Then next thing he was drowning and Sirius was waking him up.

Then the memories came crashing down all at once and he cried out. Mum. Dad. Dead. His mind went numb.

"You Ok mate?" Sirius asked, appearing with two mugs of hot chocolate. James frowned and taking the mug Sirius offered to him.

"…Yeah. I guess so." He took a sip of the chocolate and burnt his tongue. He gasped and bit his lip.

"It's hot." Sirius said unnecessarily. James winced.

"Yeah. I got that." He rasped. Sirius chuckled lowly and James smiled grimly. They finished they're drinks in silence.

"You feel like breakfast here or in the hall?" Sirius asked, picking up the empty mugs and sending them back into the kitchen with his wand.

"Hall. I wanna talk to Remus 'bout next week." James said quietly. Sirius nodded. Next week was the full moon.

"Me and Wormy could manage if you're not up to it." Sirius suggested.

"No you couldn't." James said. Sirius didn't argue. They both knew James was right. There was a long silence. "What time is it?"

"6:30."

"Aw, crap." James flopped back against the sofa. Sirius grinned, he too had no idea why they were up at such an ungodly hour.

"Yeah." He agreed. "I know the feeling."

**X-x-X-x-X**

Classes at Hogwarts started at 9 o'clock. Most students had breakfast from 8 onwards. But the early risers of the school were often seen in the Great Hall as early as 7. But usually around 7:30, a reasonable amount of early rising students arrived for their meal.

Peter Pettigrew, Rose Phillips and Jessica Parker were not early risers, therefore those particular students (along with Remus Lupin) were _not_ in the hall at 7:30, when James, Leila, Lily and Sirius arrived for breakfast. Hazel Matlock and her friend Anna, however, were.

"Lils!" Hazel called, waving Lily over. Lily smiled and led her friends towards the two fifth years. Hazel smiled solemnly. "Hi everyone. Hey James." Hazel knew James marginally well due to being a prefect and a member of the quidditch team. So of course she also knew Leila and Sirius; other members of the team,

"Hi." James said quietly. Since talking to Sirius earlier in the morning, his mood had sloped downwards until he hit where he was now, not talking much and trying not to think about anything important. Hazel shot him a sympathetic look and they ate their meals in relative silence, until Hazel turned to Leila and asked. "Hey, I was just wondering… When's the funeral?" in a low voice. Leila stared at her and James drew in a sharp, painful breath. Hazel saw the look on his face and bit her lip, turning back to her food and not waiting for an answer.

Leila turned, slowly to face Sirius, because the truth was, she had no idea… neither of them did.

**X-x-X**

As more students filtered in, Leila noticed that everyone seemed to be shooting sympathetic and startled looks at James. She glanced across at him. He was very pale and wasn't eating or talking or doing very much at all really. Leila knew exactly what everyone else was thinking. 'Was this really the head boy? The crazy, quidditch obsessed seeker and captain for Gryffindor? One of the school's most popular guys and top pranksters? This guy? Sitting here with no trace of enthusiasm about _anything_?'

But the sad thing was. The answer was yes. It was the head boy. The crazy, quidditch obsessed seeker and captain for Gryffindor and all of that. It was exactly the same person as before.

**X-x-X**

In the end, James didn't even speak to Remus. Sirius sorted it out when Remus, Rose, Peter and Jess arrived for breakfast, just as the others were leaving. Lily asked Rose to get homework for the four of them, just so they'd have something to do later on. As for James, he announced that he wanted to sit by the lake.

Sirius was a bit nervous about it, remembering James's dream earlier, but as soon as they got there, James just found a rock to lean on, closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep.

Lily watched him with a saddened expression. She summoned a blanket and laid it on top of James before laying down next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. She didn't close her eyes, or even attempt to go to sleep, she just needed to rest.

Leila took Sirius's hand and buried her head in his chest. Sirius rubbed her back gently.

"I just wanted to get back to classes and get it over with." Leila mumbled.

"I know."

"But… I just… he was just _looking _at me! And I couldn't… I don't want to hurt him."

"I know."

"Why is it so hard?"

"I don't know."

Leila sobbed and raised her head and let Sirius wipe her tears away with his thumb. She managed a watery smile.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I know." Sirius said softly. And Leila laughed. She laid her head on his shoulder and stood like that for a while.

"Sirius?" she said eventually.

"Yeah."

"Don't ever leave me."

"…Okay."

**A.N- **_Aw…_

_Reviews!!!! Next chapter: __**The Hogwarts NEWT Study Guide**_

_Ok, three things!! 1. I've just put some polls up on my profile so feel free to vote!! ;)_

_2. I am now a beta-reader so if you'd like me to beta your story I'd be happy to take a look!! =D_

_3. So, would anyone be interested in a sequel for this story…… I mean, what's gonna happen to Leila AFTER Hogwarts?????_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	37. Chapter 37:The Hogwarts NEWT Study Guide

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Seven- The Hogwarts NEWT Study Guide**

"The Hogwarts what?"

"The Hogwarts NEWT study guide."

"What the hell is that!"

"Padfoot, we've been through this."

"I know! But it's… it's…"

"3 and a half inches thick?"

"Yes! Thank you Wormy! So how the hell are we supposed to… Prongs? Prongs, what are you doing? Prongs! Don't read it! It'll kill you! It'll infect your brain! It'll-"

"Oh shush!" Rose snapped. Sirius stopped mid-sentence to gawk at her. Leila laughed.

Remus, Rose, Jess and Peter had finished they're classes and had arrived at the 'guest suite' armed with 8 enormous piles of parchment that had been magicked together and topped with a worn leather cover to form a study guide for getting ready for NEWT's. And, as Peter said, it was 3 and a half inches thick.

James had taken his copy silently and began to flip through it, ignoring Sirius and the others.

Sirius sighed and collapsed on his couch in defeat. Leila grinned and sat next to him, whispering something in his ear. Sirius rolled his eyes good naturedly and put on his sarcastic 'well-if-you-insist…' expression. Remus shot them a wry smile.

"So, these contain everything we've covered, since first year and we have to study it to make sure that we know everything we'll need to know for NEWT's." Lily said, flicking absently through her own copy.

"Yes. Plus some things that might not even be in the test, 'coz they can't just tell us what we have to know to answer the questions." Rose confirmed.

"It's just the basics, of everything from first year up." Remus said.

"But that's what OWL's were supposed to be!" Sirius cried.

"OWL's were just basics for our level that puts years 1-5 into one curriculum to make sure our magical education was good enough to ensure us a 'better future'. NEWT's are general knowledge and 'excellence' questions for more advanced and extra things. Stuff that'll get us professional jobs and things. If we were planning on never getting a job or having a job that requires little qualification then OWL's would give us enough to live well off of." Rose said knowledgably. Sirius considered.

"Ok, I'm beat! But why the huge books?" He said, eyeing a particular study guide with suspicion. Remus groaned and Rose, Leila and Lily sighed.

"Because they want to help us pass our exams, and no, they didn't use them for OWL's. That's because OWL's is more for living, which isn't as complex. Even though it may have seemed that way at the time." Jess explained calmly, not looking up from her charms textbook. Everyone blinked at her, stunned. Peter smiled fondly at her and Jess winked at him.

"Well, can't argue with that." Sirius sighed, "Let's have a look through." He tugged a guide towards him and flicked through to potions; his favourite subject. Leila rolled her eyes.

"Jess, I think you deserve an award." She announced.

"For what?" Jess asked.

"Convincing Sirius that studying pays off." Lily said, answering before Leila could.

"Seconded." Rose mumbled.

**X-x-X-x-X**

The 8 of them walked down to the Great Hall shortly afterwards to eat dinner and were followed by stares of everyone but certain Slytherins. Though even Regulas glanced at James sympathetically and shot Sirius a glance that he interpreted as pity.

That evening, Rose, Peter, Jess and Remus left to go back to the common room at around 8:30. The remaining four sat around the fire on couches, flicking through their study guides. Every now and then Sirius would make a comment about something he'd read, making Lily and Leila giggle and James smile weakly. Leila and Lily had never really studied with the Marauders before so they found this method cheerful. Sirius, however felt less enthusiastic with the loss of James making jokes himself and laughing at everyone else's.

It was late that evening that Leila announced that she was going to bed. Sullenly, the rest agreed and the three of them disappeared off to their respective rooms, two out of the four, cried themselves to sleep.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Funerals are never easy, but this one was especially painful. Leila and James led their small group into the cemetery on the morning of the last day of term.

Distant relatives of the Potter's were there. Many came towards the group to offer their condolences to James but James wasn't really listening. Leila would usually smile sadly at them as they left but she wasn't sure whether any of it really counted for anything.

At the end of the service, just like at the Lupin funeral, the 'guests' were allowed a chance to say their goodbyes. Leila and James dropped back so that they could be the last ones.

But when they were by the perfectly carved, marble graves, Leila found that she had no idea what to say. As Remus passed, he looked up slightly and murmured something that sounded like 'Thanks for everything' and Peter paused, closing his eyes as he passed the graves to join Jess, Lily, Rose and Remus off to one side. Sirius crouched by the graves and murmured a few things before doing the same, his face pale and his eyes bright.

Leila knelt slowly and looked at the words on the stone:

_Here Lies_

_Tiberus Harry Potter, 1935-1977_

_And_

_Catherine Sophia Potter, 1936-1977_

_Rest in Peace_

She stared at the names for a little while before taking a shuddering breath and whispering, "I- I'll miss you. Say hi to mum and dad." Then she stood and walked into Sirius's waiting arms.

They waited as James knelt by the graves and bent his head, whispering and crying. Obviously, he was having no trouble thinking of what to say.

Once he was done, he didn't get up, he didn't move, he just stayed where he was. Gently, Sirius let go of Leila and made sure she had her balance before moving to James's side. He put one hand on his shoulder and said something too quietly for the others to hear. James nodded and stood up shakily. Sirius gestured for Lily to come and she did, sliding a comforting hand round James's hunched shoulders.

When the time came to leave, they found that Dumbledore was waiting for them; a portkey in his hands.

**X-x-X-x-X**

**The following day…**

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was cloudless. The lake was glittering and a light breeze rustled the trees.

The eight Gryffindors sat by the lake with their study guides, Sirius didn't try and lighten the mood this time, it only made himself feel worse. Leila and Lily seemed slightly lost and out of place, sitting a little way apart from the rest of the group. Rose was reading, blocking everything else out and trying to focus her thoughts on her book. It didn't work however, and she found herself wondering how her Easter Holidays would go, staying with Josh and Samantha. Remus was truly focused on his work, puzzling over a particular spell. Jess and Peter were trying to help each other study, but their minds just kept wandering and they found it extremely hard to concentrate.

After what seemed like years, though what really was about 15 minutes, something very unexpected happened.

James laughed.

The sound was loud and genuine, if not a bit choked from his dry throat. He kept laughing, unaware that all of his friends were staring at him.

"Err… Prongs?" Sirius asked with a worried frown, "Are you Ok Mate?" This only caused James to laugh harder, until his face went red and tears formed in his eyes. He fell backwards and laid on his back in the middle of the grounds, unable to control his laughter.

"James, what's wrong?" Lily asked, worriedly. James howled with laughter.

"James?" Leila asked uncertainly. Everyone gathered round, watching James with concerned eyes. But James kept laughing. He clutched his stomach and coughed a few times before taking several deep breaths and relaxing; his eyes closed and a grin on his lips.

His friends stared at him in confusion.

"Prongs. What the hell was that about?" Peter asked. James chuckled and opened his eyes.

"We're studying!" He said in amusement, letting out a weird giggle.

"What?" Remus asked.

"We're studying!" James repeated.

"So?" Jess cried.

"We're the Marauders! It's not even third term! Since when did we actually _study_?" James laughed again and flashed a grin at Sirius who tilted his head like a confused puppy.

"What are you on about?" He sighed. James laughed.

"I'm so _stupid_!" He cried, "We usually have fun, play pranks, eat junk food! And we're just sitting here on this perfect day, _studying_! It's stupid! A week ago I was sick with happiness! And now I'm studying! What's wrong with me?" He turned to Lily this time, a lopsided smile on his face.

"James, you just lost your parents. No one expects you go around playing pranks." Lily said in disbelief.

"But it's stupid! There are people way more worse off than me! And they all do fine! Look at… at… the Prewetts! They're not the richest of families! Fabian barely made it onto the auror team. The head of the auror office doesn't like Gideon. The minister has something against Arthur Weasley who has 3 kids and a wife to support! And to top it all off! They're 'blood traitors' and therefore on the death eaters hit list! Yet they're the happiest bunch of people I've ever met! And I'm STUDYING!" James laughed and sprang up from the grass. He grabbed Lily and spun her around, laughing crazily.

Lily smiled, feeling a familiar dizzy sensation grip her heart. He kissed her and held her close. "It's Easter!" He breathed, "It's Easter and I'm going out with Lily Evans and it's only three hours until I won't see you for two weeks!"

Leila felt a grin creep across her face. Her eyes lit up and she glanced at Sirius. Could James finally be coming round? Could he bring himself to move on?

"Hey Prongs! How about some quidditch?" Rose said suddenly. James let go of Lily and spun round, his eyes clear and happier than they'd looked in days.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Rose laughed. Leila glanced over at Remus who smiled.

Maybe things were going to be Ok after all?

**A.N- **_Notes to Anonymous Reviewers:_

_To the person who left the reviews 'INCONSISTENCY' and 'ugh'. Thank you very much for the constructive criticism. It is much appreciated and I will definitely take your comments into account when I edit (I'm posting edited chapters next week). Is there an account I can contact on, because I'd love to respond to your reviews more thoroughly._

_VP0202! Thanks soo much for your review! It made my day! =D And if you ever do get round to writing those fics I'll look forward to reading them… or maybe even beta-ing if you'd like? =) Toff.x_

_Urgh! This chapter took me sooo long to write! I couldn't decide on any ideas!_

_The stuff about NEWT's and OWL's is mostly completely made up by the way. Sorry if it confused you!_

_Anyway, the next chapter is: __**The Package**_

_Stay Tuned!_

_Toff.x_


	38. Chapter 38: The Package

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Eight- The Package**

That evening, all of the students that were to go home for the Easter holidays left on the train. This included Rose, Jess, and Lily. Rose, because she'd promised Josh. Jess, because it was both her mum and her half-brother's birthday. Lily, because she knew it would be the last time as a student to be able to spend time with her family in her holidays and she owed it to her parents, for missing Christmas.

James spent about 15 minutes saying goodbye to Lily since he decided to start in advance and whined about it for a while, thoroughly annoying his friends and amusing Lily.

Once she and the other two girls were gone, his good mood remained and the Marauders plus Leila discussed pranks on their way down to the Great Hall for dinner.

**X-x-X**

In the train compartment, heading back to London, Lily looked at her two friends and frowned.

"Say, isn't it weird that this is how it used to be all the time?" She said. Rose looked up from her book and Jess snapped out of her trance.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"I mean, without the Marauders, or Leila. Just us three, on our way back home for the holidays. I mean, this time last year, we were doing exactly this. 'Cept Alice was here, ranting about how Frank asked her out." Lily said thoughtfully. Jess threw her a lopsided grin.

"Yeah. That is weird. I mean, we never even knew James Potter had a cousin, let alone that we'd become best friends with her. A lot has changed." She said.

"Yeah. Like last year, my parents were both perfectly normal and I had little to no contact with Josh, who was single." Rose said.

"And I had hardly had the courage to ever speak to Peter. And my worst problem was my stupid step-brothers." Jess added.

"And I was adamant that James Potter was an arrogant toe-rag." Lily grinned.

"And Remus was sweet and innocent with a poor, sick mother and no dramatic secrets!" Rose said, a smile creeping onto her face.

"And Peter was the quiet marauder who never did much that no one would ever suspect to be one of the sweetest and most thoughtful guys in the year." Jess said in a dreamy voice.

"Yeah! And Sirius was just the player that the stupid girls like Meggin Stone were all over and he was completely incapable of normal emotions." Lily laughed.

"Ah, those were the days." Rose sighed. The girls looked at each other and immediately cracked up.

**X-x-X-x-X**

After dinner, James's mood deflated somewhat. He tried not to show it but it didn't seem to work. Everyone else noticed.

He was determined to sleep in the Gryffindor dorms though so the five of them traipsed up to Gryffindor tower and Sirius kissed Leila before she disappeared up to the girls dorms.

Over the next few days, James's moods flicked on and off. When he was in a good mood, he'd go relatively back to his normal self, with just a hint of sadness in his eyes. But when he was in a bad mood, he went quiet and lost confidence. He went along with the normal routine and pranked and played quidditch, just without his usual loudness and over-enthusiastic-ness.

Slowly, the bad moods faded away and by the last weekend of the holidays, he was almost completely back to normal. You could see in his eyes that something was missing but it didn't affect him as much and he wasn't shaking or having nightmares anymore which was always a good sign.

It was on the last Saturday of the holidays and the five students were out in the grounds, eating leftover Easter eggs and discussing the new term, when Leila decided to raise a delicate subject.

"Erm, James. I was just thinking. About Potter Manor… and how a lot of our stuff is there… Um… and well, aren't we supposed to get our stuff out of there before the house and stuff is sold?"

Peter, Remus and Sirius went quiet. James stiffened, then frowned. There was a long, icy pause.

"Well…" James began, and the others held their breath, "I guess so." He finished. Leila sagged with relief. "Why don't we ask McGonagall if we could floo there from her office tomorrow?"

"Um. Yeah. That'd be good. Yeah. Lets go ask her now." Leila smiled and stood up. James grinned and jumped up himself.

"Yeah! Lets."

**X-x-X-x-X**

_Wow. I have a lot of junk._ Leila thought to herself as she cleaned out her bedroom. She'd just emptied her bathroom cupboards, wardrobe, chest of drawers and the box of stuff she kept at the foot of her bed.

And now, for her desk. She pulled open the first drawer to find a large envelope. The very one she'd hidden in here two weeks ago, the day she'd received it, along with that tragic news. Frowning, she sat down on her bed and pulled out her Aunt and Uncle's will, setting it aside with extreme care before tipping the rest out onto her bed.

These were her father's notes. The stuff that the death eaters were after. The stuff Leila suspected the death eaters thought Remus's parents had. Maybe she'd find out why.

The contents of the envelope was mostly scraps of parchment with ingredients and random notes that she was sure she could make sense of if she could be bothered sorting through them. But along with the scraps there was one main 'copy' of something that was only half finished. Leila picked it up and started to read:

_**Andrew Potter: Uses of Wolfsbane**_

_**Healing Potion: Trial Seventeen**_

_Desired Effect: Allows Werewolf to keep their human mind through their transformations on full moons_

_Tested: Yes… On: Patient 169… Details: Confidential_

_Successful: Yes_

_Ingredients:_

Leila stopped reading. A long list of ingredients along with the first step in the Method was all that remained.

This couldn't mean what she thought it did. Had her father discovered a way to cure (or at least control) lycanthropy? That was impossible! And if it wasn't, why did the death eaters want the notes so badly?

She decided to call the boys. Remus especially should know about this.

"GUYS!!! REMUS!!! GUYS! COME IN HERE!" She yelled, keeping the piece of paper clutched in her hand. Remus appeared in the doorway, with Peter behind him.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Get James." Leila said. "And Sirius." Peter turned around and yelled for them to come, which they did, shortly after.

"What is it?" Sirius called, as he made his way towards the bedroom with James.

"I found my dad's notes." Leila said, allowing the boys to come into her room.

"Ok." James said slowly, taking on his usual role of marauder leader, despite the way he'd been quiet since arriving back at the manor.

"A-and, it turns out… he was working on… on cures for diseases." As Leila said this, she caught Remus's eye for a fraction of a second before turning back to James.

"So what?" Her cousin said, frowning, "He's been doing that ever since he started doing healing potion work."

"Yeah but, we never knew what _types_ of diseases he was working on!" Leila said carefully.

"And you've found out in the notes?" Peter guessed. Leila nodded slowly.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, not noticing how Remus had paled ever so slightly. Leila however had noticed and her voice was quiet as she answered;

"It's… It's lycanthropy." She swallowed. Remus coughed and took a step back before straightening and composing himself. A short silence fell over the group.

"Did- did you find out more?" Sirius asked. Leila nodded and handed over the paper. Sirius read it aloud up to the ingredients. Remus paled completely. Another silence ensued. "Wow." Sirius said after a while. "This… this is pretty big."

"You think?" Remus said in a hoarse voice. Sirius bit his lip.

"Is the method complete?" James asked quietly. Leila shook her head.

"It cuts off halfway through. But we might be able to piece together just a few more… it seems like we'd have to be trained healers to figure it out." She explained. Remus scoffed.

"Like some random healers could be trusted with this at this time! It's no wonder death eaters were after this! Like Sirius said; it's huge!" Remus cried.

"But how could death eaters use it?" Leila asked.

"Think about it," Peter chipped in, "there are plenty of werewolves on their side. Think of how many people they could infect if they could guarantee that they had human minds on full moons. It'd be the new form of murder! Not to be mention a quick way of getting revenge or forcing people to join _his_ side!" James and Remus nodded in agreement.

"It would make sense though… I mean, of all the people on the good side of the war. They want to get the potion. And if they thought it was complete, and knew what it did but didn't know who invented it or where it was, they'd go for the most obvious candidates. Aka the people who are most likely to have it." Sirius sat down on Leila's guest chair and continued to speak his thoughts aloud. "Leila's dad was a recognized healer, known for his work on diseases. But when he 'didn't have it', they went for the fighters who were well educated and had connections to werewolves; Moony's parents. Then, they went for the Potter's again, when that was unsuccessful. Anyone else that could be a likely suspect probably aren't that well known, and after three failures, they're likely to think that the potion's just being passed on. Which means the next targets could be-" Sirius stopped and his eyes widened in horror.

"I hate it when he does that." Peter grumbled.

"Does what?" Leila asked suspiciously.

"When he speaks his thoughts aloud until he comes to a conclusion." Remus answered.

"What's so bad about that. I mean, we have a plausible theory now, that's probably good for us to know…" Leila paused and glanced at her boyfriend. "… Even if it is terrifying and spookily accurate."

"Terrifying and spookily accurate. That's why we hate it when he does that." James said. "He only does it with crucial subjects that often lead to 'terrifying and spookily accurate' results." Leila bit her lip.

"Um… so maybe we should just mention this to Dumbledore." She suggested weakly.

"Yeah. Maybe we should… when we get back." Sirius said shakily, scared by his own conclusion. So that's what they did.

**X-x-X**

"And if they somehow decide that attacking each of the family members is leading to something, then-"

"You would be the next targets." Dumbledore stared evenly across his desk at Leila and James as they retold the story and their theory to the professor. Sirius, Remus and Peter stood sheepishly in the background. The old professor looked at each of them in turn, then at the package that Leila had lain on his desk, containing the potion notes. "I must say, I am impressed. You are bright young students." He said calmly.

"But surely you knew about this before." Leila said.

"Yes. We did. Professor McGonagall and I had been debating when to tell you and whether you would eventually figure it out. It seems, once again, that Professor McGonagall was right." Dumbledore smiled and his eyes sparkled. "You are right. And your theory matches ours. We recommend that you stay on-site at all times. Teachers already watch your quidditch matches and Hogwarts is probably the best protected building in Britain. While here, you should be safe. Once the year is over… we're starting to sort out some things. For now at least, continuing as normal is recommended."

"But what about the package?" Leila asked.

"…Can you think of anywhere you could hide it?" Dumbledore asked with an almost knowing smile. Leila shook her head and felt the corners of her lips tug upwards in a small smile.

"I think I know where I can put it sir." She said. "No one will find it. I promise."

"That's good. Now is there anything else you would wish to ask me?" Dumbledore looked round at each teenager in turn. They all shook their heads and the professor smiled. "Then you may go."

**A.N-**_ I think I'll stop here actually. Like it? I think it's a rather significant plot twist but you know… I enjoy second opinions. Which is code for 'Please Review'!!! _

_The next chapter is…. __**Chapter 39: Almost like normal **_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	39. Chapter 39: Almost Like Normal

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Thirty Nine- Almost like normal**

The next morning Leila awoke in the girls' dorm. It still felt weird waking up in here without the other girls being at school, but the other three would be back this evening, and she liked being with just the Marauders. They were great company, always exciting.

The only thing was, they laid in. And she didn't. She missed waking up with Lily and bullying the others to wake up.

Anyway, brushing those thoughts away, Leila sat up and stretched, surveying the room. The normal, Hogwarts-provided dresser was next to her white one from Potter Manor. All furniture that Leila and James wanted to keep had been bought into Hogwarts until they found homes of their own. This included a red armchair that the boys hand in their dorm and James's old wardrobe along with a bookshelf and a bunch of boxes filled with random belongings. Leila had her dresser, a desk, a collection of boxes herself and a large mirror. McGonagall and Dumbledore's offices each had a new couch that were staying there until Leila and James might need them again and an extra table was being kept in the kitchens. When asked by the other Marauders why they were taking this stuff, James and Leila replied that it was to save furniture shopping later on.

James said that he would maybe one day move back to Potter Manor, he didn't want it sold, but for now, both Leila and James wished to live elsewhere, so it remained unoccupied. As for Cherly the house-elf, she was working at Hogwarts- and loving it!

So Leila swung her legs out of bed and went to the bathroom to have a shower. She came out, dressed and dried her hair with a charm before pulling it into a loose bun and sliding a few clips into it.

She flicked her wand at the drawer on her dresser, unlocking it and took out of it a shoebox that had been magically sealed. She opened that with a complicated wand movement and opened it to find a magically sealed package. She didn't open it; it would take a while to undo all the charms, but she ran a finger over it and made an extra copy of it with her wand. She put the copy on her bed and set about hiding the original once more. Then she put the copy, a sheaf of parchment, a tightly sealed pot of ink and a thin quill into a pillowcase which she hid under her mattress. She did a few charms to make it better hidden and hard to get to before leaving the dorm, and the copy of the package ready for her to come back to that evening.

**X-x-X**

In the common room, she found Remus curled up in an armchair. That was odd. Remus wasn't one for early mornings. Leila frowned and made her way towards him. He looked up at her and smiled weakly as she found a seat beside him.

"Morning." He croaked.

"Good morning." Leila replied softly. "You Ok?"

"Yeah… just thinking." Remus looked down at his hands and stared at them intently.

"Feel like sharing?" Leila prompted.

"I don't think you're gonna give me much of a choice." He chuckled, then sighed. "I just… when I was little, healers used to use me as their guinea pig, to test and see if they'd found a cure. They used me because I was too young to know whether it was Ok myself. They gave me loads of different potions and stuff, saying it'd cure me. But none of it ever did. It just… never worked! I stopped letting them test things on me when I turned ten. I couldn't face the disappointment." Remus shook his head.

"You think this potion might not be the real thing?" Leila said quietly, her voice emotionless.

"Yes. That's exactly what I think. I don't want to get my hopes up again. I don't want to be disappointed. Not again."

"This one's been tested though."

"Yet it's not finished."

"It is. My dad worked like that. He took random little notes and then made the potion, then he'd test it. If it didn't work, he'd start over. If it did, he'd use the random notes to remind him of how to make the potion again. And then he'd test it once more. Then it would be done. It's a confidentiality thing… but that's not the point. The point is if this one worked once, it'll work again." Leila said confidently. Remus looked up at her.

"I guess so." He mumbled.

"Look, Remus, don't worry about it. No one's gonna be actually working on it for a while anyway. Dumbledore said he wants us to keep it hidden until the death eaters stop going after it… or at least until someone Dumbledore completely trusts volunteers to work on it." Leila put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't even need to get your hopes up yet. It's not even been made."

"Maybe." Remus said quietly. Leila sighed.

"Look. What's gonna happen, is gonna happen. For now, why don't we go wake up James and Sirius! Maybe they'll do something other than yell today."

Remus grinned and rolled his eyes, following the excited Leila up to the 7th year boys' dorm.

**X-x-X-x-X**

"LILY!" Lily looked up and grinned. The Marauders and Leila were standing by a carriage, waving at them. James pushed forward towards her and drew her into a deep kiss. They broke apart smiling and she put an arm round him as they walked back to the carriage together.

After varying levels of 'enthusiastic' greetings, the eight of them climbed into the carriage and headed back towards the castle. And so the term began…

And pretty soon, it passed… quickly? It was hard to tell.

It consisted of…

…Classes: Nothing too special. Peter was doing well in charms with Jess's help and Remus was excelling in care of magical creatures as usual. James breezed his way through transfiguration and Lily and Sirius competed for best potion-making. Leila was also paying extra attention in potions, making her way into the slug-club, much to James, Sirius and Lily's amusement and her annoyance. Jess struggled and Rose, unexpectedly, breezed their ways through defence against the dark arts. All of the students found themselves with massive homework loads plus the NEWT study guides to contend with.

…'Charms homework': Apparently, life changing exams could only be passed if teachers eliminated any chance a bunch of 17-year-olds having social lives. But the Gryffindors managed to both have social lives _and_ do homework. They often gathered in the library during free periods and helped each other with homework. Then they'd do more straight after school. And my the late evening, they had an hour or more to do whatever they wanted…  
Lately however, Jess and Peter had taken to excusing themselves every now and then, resorting to their old excuse from back in term one: 'charms homework.'

…Quidditch: James pushed his team four times a week with quidditch practices and after thrashing Ravenclaw, the Gryffindor team secured a place in the final, playing Slytherin. The match was to take place one week after NEWT examinations finished so James made sure that there was extra hard practice before it came to the week leading up to exams, when the seventh years would have to study.

…Career Discussions: For Leila, who hadn't been at Hogwarts in fifth year, this was her first one of these, but for everyone else it was a case of 'did they achieve what they needed to last time?' and 'do you still want to do what you wanted to in fifth year?'. James, Sirius and Lily all wanted to be aurors. Rose wanted to do something to do with law at the ministry but didn't know whether she was making the right choice, since she knew that Voldemort could well want to take over the Ministry some time soon. Peter and Jess both wanted to go into something simple, they couldn't decide exactly what yet, so McGonagall suggested that they kept their decisions open, giving them a few options and suggesting that they just aim for as many NEWT's as possible. Leila however, decided she wanted to be a healer, like her father. Whether it had something to do with the unfinished potion or not, her friends never asked.

…Full moons: They mostly passed easily. Each time, Rose wrote to Josh and each time, Samantha wrote a letter to Rose, telling him all the things Josh didn't mention, like how well he was really doing. -Josh usually just told Rose that he was 'fine'-. (Rose had become quite close to Josh and Samantha after her Easter Holiday she'd shared with them. Unlike Jess and Lily who'd been completely sick of their families by the end of their holidays.) James, Peter and Sirius accompanied Remus to the shrieking shack and the girls developed a habit of sneaking up to the astronomy tower to watch the four animals play on the grounds and on the edges of the forest.

…And Finally, exams: They were quite similar to OWL's to be honest. A bit harder, and more nerve-racking. But they all passed through them without too much of a struggle. By the end of them, the only thing any of them was really worried about was the Quidditch final.

And really, without truly realising it. They had good cause to be worried.

**A.N- **_Ooh! Mystery! Sorry for the dullness of this chapter, but will be much more exciting next week!!!_

_Ok, a few things. 1. I have put two new stories up on my fictionpress account, if you're interested go to my profile!_

_2. It is official. There will be a sequel to this, but I need help deciding names!! Suggestions welcome! I'd like it to link to this story_

_and 3. I have decided that this story will be 50 chapters long plus an epilogue. I'll try and get a chapter up a week from now!_

_**Chapter 40- The Quidditch Final!**__ Is coming soon! Stay tuned and review please!!_

_Toff.x_


	40. Chapter 40: The Quidditch Final

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty- The Quidditch Final**

The game was huge. Everyone was there. McGonagall had been especially nice to all team members throughout the week. Slytherins and Gryffindors stayed away from each other and team members kept in groups so as not to be injured before the game by the opposition. Slughorn had gone off Leila, James, Sirius and Rose for the week (to their delight). The exams for seventh years were over and there was one and a half weeks of relaxing at school before their results came back and they were thrust into the real world, head first. People from outside of school came to watch the game, including Josh and Samantha who joined the Gryffindors, sitting with Remus, Lily, Jess and Peter.

James was excited, his eyes shining determinedly as he spoke to his team in the changing rooms. Leila and Sirius squeezed each others' hands reassuringly as the speech came to a close. Rose looked more fiercely determined than anyone had seen her look in a long time.

Then there was a great roar as the Slytherin team came on.

"And here comes the Slytherin team now!" Came the voice of the commentator: bubbly Sasha McKinnon from Hufflepuff. James smirked at Sirius and Leila as the names of all their least favourite Slytherins were called out. Then he frowned as Sasha announced that the seeker, Regulas Black was sick and would be replaced by Mathias Gamp. James flicked a glance at Sirius but he just shrugged.

"Ok team, lets go!" James said, picking up his dad's lucky broomstick. Leila grinned and she dropped back to walk alongside Rose and the other chaser, Natalie as they walked onto the pitch. An even louder roar echoed around the stands as they did so and a huge red banner in Lily, Remus, Peter and Jess's direction was visible from a distance.

"And the Gryffindor team!" Sasha announced, "Potter, Phillips, McCready, Matlock, Black, Hannan a-and Potter!" The crowd cheered as the scarlet team rose into the air.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Lily had always been fascinated by Quidditch, even though she'd probably never tell anyone. She watched eagerly as James kicked off from the ground, his hair whipping round his face as he flew forward, shook hands with the Slytherin captain- arm wrestling style- and found his position behind the rest of the team.

The balls were released and she grinned as Leila darted forward and snatched the quaffle from underneath the Slytherin chaser's nose. She shot forward, her blue eyes glinting in the sun. Her hair was pulled back into a tight high-ponytail which streaked behind her. She tossed the ball to Rose who dove straight down, streaking towards the chaser that had been planning to tackle her from below. The chaser dropped back as she dive-bombed him, pulling up at the last second.

Then a bludger skimmed her shoulder and she yelped, throwing the ball weakly back towards Leila as the force pushed her back slightly. But Leila was blocked by another chaser and though Natalie tried to dive and get the ball the Slytherin chaser got it. Mathew Hannan hit a bludger at him but it missed and the bludger was hit back by a Slytherin beater, whipping past Leila's hair.

The Slytherin chaser shot up the field and threw the quaffle through the left hoop. Hazel lunged, even twisting her broom around and attempting to hit it with the back of her broom. But she missed and the sea of green that took up a quarter of the pitch exploded into cheers.

Lily turned her gaze to the higher sky to see the Slytherin seeker scooting towards something Lily couldn't see. She gasped but the Slytherin suddenly stopped and wheeled around, continuing to circle the pitch in search of the snitch with a defeated look on his face. Lily smirked and spotted James circling the pitch, a lot lower. He was looking up, rolling around on the broom and trying out tricks every now and then, laughing as Leila shot up the pitch, passing the quaffle to Rose who scored easily.

Half an hour later, Hazel saved a fifth goal, keeping the score 60-20 to Gryffindor. She grinned smugly and the game rolled on. Sirius smashed a bludger into the Slytherin keepers side and he spiralled away, staying balanced just long enough to reach the ground. Seizing the opportunity, the chasers sped towards the unguarded goals, easily dodging chasers and bludgers and scoring two more goals.

Now the score was 80-20. The Slytherins got one more goal before James caught sight of the snitch!

**X-x-X**

It was actually Sirius who saw it first, he pulled his bat back, about to hit it a bludger at the chaser that was aiming for a goal that Hazel wasn't guarding, when a tiny golden ball sped in front of his eyes. He yelled and dropped down about a foot before the bludger sped backwards and hit the handle of his broomstick, almost breaking it.

"CRAP!" He yelled as the Slytherin chaser scored. Then he caught sight of James streaking after the snitch. The Slytherin seeker was on his tail and Sirius saw a bludger nearby along with Mathew Hannan concentrating on the Slytherin beaters.

"Matt!" Sirius yelled, struggling to manoeuvre his bent broomstick over to the bludger. Sirius hit the bludger which flew towards Matt who then prepared to hit it back.

Matt smiled a grim smile before 'passing' the bludger back to Sirius who hit it with as much force as he could muster at the Slytherin seeker yelling: "POTTER DUCK!"

James dipped down and the bludger smashed into the Slytherin seeker, sending him flying sideways into the space where James had just been, just as the crowd cheered and Leila scored another goal.

James shot away again, following the snitch and waiting for the best moment to dart forward and attempt to grab it.

Sirius looked up with a grin, taking a breath so he could yell out 'nice one mate!' to Matt but before he could another bludger crashed into his broom handle, cutting it in half.

Sirius let out a stream of swear words as he was sent flying towards the ground, just behind the Slytherin stands.

Behind him he could hear Sasha screaming about the extra goal Rose had just scored and a single thought ran through his head _'they don't know what just happened to me…'_

"HELP!" He yelled as he spiralled to the ground. "Oh Merlin… crap! Shit! CRAP!" He yanked out his wand as his broom dropped like a dead weight from underneath him and the ground became increasingly bigger. He screamed and was about to cast a spell to cushion his fall when someone else did it for him. "Whoa!" The wind was knocked out of him and his wand flew from his hand.

He saw a pale hand reach out and catch it but someone had roughly grabbed him from behind before he could see who it was.

Something hard and fist-shaped hit the side of his head and he gasped for air. Rough hands spun him round and pushed him to the ground so that he was on all fours.

"Don't move." A soft, horribly familiar voice said from in front of him. Sirius stiffened. He glanced over his shoulder where a large man in a black cloak and white mask was standing. Another, skinnier man with pale hands fingering Sirius's wand was standing beside him. The little breath Sirius had regained caught in his throat. "Dear, dear. Poor Sirius. You'll miss the end of the match." Said the soft voice.

A woman's hand reached out and put a finger under his chin. Sirius felt their long, sharp nails dig into his cheek and draw blood as they tilted his head upwards so he'd have to look at her.

She too was wearing a black cloak, but her mask was clutched in one hand. She was a young woman with cold, black eyes. She possessed a beauty that made Sirius sick. Her long black hair spilled over her shoulders and her red lips curved into an evil smile. She held up her left hand, showing a gold ring.

"Well cuz. It's been a long time." She said in cruel, sarcastically cheerful voice. Sirius scowled at her. She wiggled her ring finger. "Look. I got married. Say hello to your favourite cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange!"

**X-x-X-x-X**

Everyone was ready and in position. The match had finished.

Voldemort and Bella were staring at him expectantly. Cissy shot him a sad glance and Snape waited emotionlessly for him at the caves exit. Sirius was bound and silenced in a chair against the cave walls. He glared, his eyes darkening. Lucias Malfoy cleared his throat expectantly.

So Regulas Black took a deep breath and joined Snape as the two of them headed towards the waiting gates of Hogwarts.

**A.N- **_Get ready people. This is where things get exciting!!! _

_Anyway. __**Next Chapter: Reg's Mistake**_

_Review and Stay Tuned!!!_

_Toff.x_


	41. Chapter 41: Reg's Mistake

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

_**Last Time…**_

_Everyone was ready and in position. The match had finished. _

_Voldemort and Bella were staring at him expectantly. Narcy shot him a sad glance and Snape waited emotionlessly for him at the caves exit. Sirius was bound and silenced in a chair against the cave walls. He glared, his eyes darkening. Lucias Malfoy cleared his throat expectantly. _

_So Regulas Black took a deep breath and joined Snape as the two of them headed towards the waiting gates of Hogwarts._

**Chapter Forty One- Reg's Mistake**

Leila cheered as Rose scored a last goal and then Sasha's voice rang through the stadium.

"… And Potter's almost there… AND HE'S GOT IT!!!" She screamed. Leila span around, ditching the quaffle as James rose in the air, the snitch in one hand.

"WE DID IT! WE WON!!!" Rose screeched, soaring over to give Leila a hug before they shot towards the teachers stand where a beaming Sasha congratulated them and Dumbledore handed James the Quidditch Cup! James jumped off of his broomstick to accept it and then turned to Professor McGonagall who was crying. He beamed at her and shook her hand before leaping off of the stand, onto his broomstick, into the air again. He hugged a slightly distracted Leila with one hand and she smiled at him while he beamed and asked. "Where's Pads?" She shrugged before they touched the ground.

Then they were surrounded by students. Lily came charging up to Leila and James; jumping into James's arms. James dropped the cup into Leila's hands and kissed her. Leila frowned and turned to see Jess and Peter running up to her, both beaming. She grinned and gave them both a hug, noticing Remus and Rose breaking apart to smile awkwardly as Josh and Samantha turned up behind them.

"Where's Padfoot?" Peter yelled over the cheers. Leila turned to him, feeling left out and upset. Peter took one look at her face and turned to Jess, yelling "Look for Sirius!" Leila allowed herself a smile at the way Peter had read her like that. Maybe he could smell it with his 'rat-senses'.

Then she started to weave through the crowd, looking for the all-too-familiar dark hair.

15 minutes later, she still hadn't found it.

**X-x-X**

"Maybe he's in the toilet?" James said, still grinning like an idiot.

"Of course he's not! That's stupid!" Leila snapped. The eight Gryffindors were standing in the middle of the pitch, discussing the disappearance of Sirius. Josh and Samantha had gone to the kitchens to get food pretty much as soon as the match had ended so they weren't there. Leila was walking around, studying each stand from a distance, as if hoping he was standing in one, waving at them.

"Or maybe he's gone to change?" James said, not seeing the severe-ness of the situation.

"Why the hell would he do that?" Leila said angrily.

"Well _I_ could do with changing."

"Oh ha, ha!" Leila said sarcastically.

"James." Lily warned.

"Oh come on guys. He can't have gone far." He grinned, "It's not as if it's a _serious_ matter!" He smirked at Leila whose back was turned to him. Remus snorted and so did Jess. Everyone else just sighed, rolled their eyes, frowned or in Leila's case, glared.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY JAMES!" She whirled round and James was startled to see tears in her extremely angry eyes. She advanced on him and he took an involuntary step backwards. "You _really_ think he'd miss this? You really, honestly think he wouldn't care that we'd won the Quidditch Cup and that he'd just _disappear_ without even _looking_ at us, for _fifteen minutes_, just to _get changed_!"

"Leila-" James said, his excitement gone and his face guilty.

"You know what I noticed?" Leila cut in with a snarl, "Snape wasn't at the match! And neither were his mates. You know who else wasn't here? Regulas Black! Remember what Regulas Black and Snape were talking about after Christmas?" James stared at Leila, his mouth open in shock and horror.

"Death eaters." Jess murmured softly. A tear rolled down Leila's cheek.

"I've lost my mum, my dad, my aunt and uncle, I almost thought I'd lost you when you went all depressed at Easter!" Leila said lowly so only James could hear her. "I _don't_ want to lose Sirius aswell."

She glared at her cousin, who bit his lip, looking guilty. Lily pursed her lips nervously. "Ok." James whispered. "Ok. I get it. I'm sorry. I was carried away." Leila nodded sharply and turned away.

"S'ok." She sighed. "I just wanna know why he isn't here."

"OI! POTTER!" Someone yelled from the Hogsmeade end of the pitch. And there, running towards them in the form of a panicked teenage boy, was her answer.

**X-x-X**

"OI! POTTER!" Reg yelled, running towards the pitch. Behind him, Snape darted away towards the Gryffindor changing rooms.

Reg's role was simple; act like a distraught 14-year-old whose brother had been captured and taken away from him. Then he'd hope they'd take the bait and stand back to 'watch the show' as Bella put it.

The thing was; he didn't really want the seven of them to get killed, trying to fight a bunch of ridiculously over-practised and deadly death eaters. But he knew that if they didn't, Sirius would be killed for sure: or worse.

So he ran towards James Potter, feeling guilty and more scared than ever before.

"What do you want?" Potter said suspiciously.

"They took Sirius!" Reg cried, pointing behind him.

"What?" The Potter girl said sharply, spinning around to stare at Reg.

"Death Eaters! Took Sirius! They're gonna kill him!" Reg said desperately, making sure his act didn't fail and allowing tears and fear to show in his eyes.

"What? Why? And where?" The Potter girl cried, looking stricken.

"The big cave out the back of Hogsmeade! They're after some potion! _They're gonna kill him_!" He added, allowing his voice to crack. The Potter girl turned to the shocked faces of Evans and the other Potter.

"We have to go after him!" She said, sounding scared and unsure.

"Are you crazy!" The Phillips girl piped up, fear in her own eyes, "They'll kill us! We're way outnumbered! And in-experienced!" Without meaning to she flicked a glance at the Parker girl.

_Damn. They're smart._

"So we're gonna let them kill Sirius?" The Potter boy asked harshly.

"No!" Phillips cried, outraged, then she fumbled, "But… we could… we can… tell someone! Teachers!"

_No! No, no!_

"What? With the teachers all over the place in who knows whatever places teachers hang out after quidditch games?" Evans said, one eyebrow raised.

_Yeah. Nice Evans._

"Yeah! Sirius'll be dead by the time anyone even got there!" Lupin added. Reg bit his lip at the horrible thought of a dead Sirius.

"They're right. We need people to go now." Pettigrew agreed.

"Besides! Regulas can get help for us!" The Potter girl said. Reg jumped at the use of his first name in the Gryffindor's discussion.

"What?" He yelped… this wasn't part of the plan!

"Yeah!" Potter (James) cried, "You go and fetch help! We'll go and get a head start!"

"I- err… I-" Reg thought about it for a second before deciding he could make it work. "Yeah Ok." He said, letting his voice shake slightly with fear. "B-but you have to be quick! Hurry!" He made a 'shoo' motion with his hands and turned on one heel, running towards the castle. Hoping with all his heart that maybe they'd be able to at least save _Sirius_.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Remus ran after the others, fuelled by adrenaline. Rose was muttering to Jess behind him and Peter was panting, just in front of them. In front, Lily and James were holding hands, both looking ahead with a mixture of fear and determined emotions on their faces. In front of them, Leila was sprinting ahead with tears on her cheeks which she brushed away every now and then. Remus gripped his wand and hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

Leila started to get further away than the rest of them as they hit the other side of Hogsmeade, where the village houses stopped and countryside began.

"Don't go too far Leil!" Lily yelled worriedly. But Leila took no notice and ran faster.

A gust of wind blew in their direction and Remus caught a scent that was all too familiar to him, from his deranged werewolf mind.

_Evil. Bad. Attack._

Remus felt his eyes narrow and wondered if they'd change colour like they sometimes did when he was angry. With a growl he used his sensitive werewolf nose to figure out where it was coming from.

Everywhere… hiding behind rocks, tress, in patches of long grass, disillusioned… They were ready to attack.

He strained his ears and heard them far before anyone else.

"_They're coming._" Drawled the voice of Lucias Malfoy. "_Get ready to attack the girl. She's in front… alone._" Remus looked up to see a glimpse of blonde hair by a thick tree trunk. A tree Leila was about to run past.

"LEILA! NO!" Remus warned, shouting as loud as he could. Lily and James glanced back at him as a jet of purple light shot at Leila and she screamed, barely dodging it. "Faster!" Remus said to the others running with him as he heard more death eaters. He heard Sirius's voice from somewhere higher up on the gentle slop they were running up. But the others didn't seem to hear him. Then he stopped in mid-sentence, silenced no doubt.

Then a red spell narrowly missed Remus and his eyes narrowed once more as he went into a fighting stance.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Severus ran into the Gryffindor changing rooms, knowing they'd be empty. He scowled and glanced round the tidy room, decorated entirely with red and gold banners. In one corner was a poster with the game plan outlined on it with diagrams and bullet points.

He sought out the scarlet bag with '' printed in gold on the side of it and cast a charm on it before ripping it open. Inside was a mess of things. Severus began to take things out of it, starting with a tiny blue box. Sev unlocked it with his wand and emptied the contents into his hand. A gold necklace, a small silver ring, a sapphire bracelet, two plain silver earrings and a watch fell out. Snape cursed and dropped it all; it was just jewellery she took off for the game. He rummaged through the bag, removing robes and muggle clothes, deodorant and a hairbrush, a team photo and a scrap of parchment with some sappy comment from Black scrawled across it.

At the bottom of the bag was a small bronze key. Sev frowned, pocketed it and moved hurriedly onto Potter and Black's bags… just in case. He did it quickly though, somehow, he had the feeling that whatever the Dark Lord wanted exactly, it wasn't in here.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Sirius scowled up at Bellatrix as she stood faithfully at Voldemort's side in front of him. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smirked.

"They're coming." Narcissa said from her spot at the entrance to the cave. Sirius looked at her sharply.

"Who's coming?" He asked quickly, dreading the answer. They shouldn't be coming after him. They'd get hurt. He wasn't worth it.

"How many?" Voldemort asked calmly, shooting a piercing glare at Sirius.

"All seven of them. The Potter girl's leading, followed by her cousin and the mudblood." Narcissa said in a monotonous voice, carefully avoiding Sirius's look of horror.

"NO!" He yelled, struggling against the spell binding him to his chair. There were death eaters planted out there, they'd kill them all. Bellatrix shot him a warning glance.

"Good." Said Voldemort, ignoring Sirius's outburst, "Notify Lucias immediately."

Then Sirius heard Remus yelling; "LEILA! NO!"

Sirius struggled even more, annoying Bellatrix. There was a bang and Leila's scream pierced the air.

"LEILA! NO! GO BACK! IT'S A TRAP! REMUS! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR M-" Sirius choked as Bellatrix sent a silencing charm at him. He could here a battle coming closer to the cave and felt tears coming to his eyes. They were all going to die. And it was all his fault. He bowed his head, closed his eyes and waited for his friends to run closer towards their deaths.

**A.N- **_Ooh... I'm not gonna say much. Just review please._

_Next Chapter: __**Trap**_

_Stay Tuned_

_Toff.x_


	42. Chapter 42: Trap

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty Two- Trap**

Of course, Regulas wasn't _really _going to get help.

Instead, he ran towards the Gryffindor changing rooms.

Snape was gone. Cursing, Regulas ran back onto the grounds, hoping he'd be able to finish his job properly. This was the smaller, yet somehow more difficult part. He'd hoped to return to the cave with Severus so he wouldn't be alone.

Halfway across the pitch, he almost ran into Slughorn.

"Regulas my boy! I thought you were sick!" The old Professor said, pleasantly surprised, yet slightly annoyed. "You could have been at the game!"

"Err… no sir." Reg said quickly, noticing flashes of light from Hogsmeade behind the professor. "I was erm… I was sick yesterday. Madame Pomphrey said I shouldn't exercise so I came to err… watch." He finished lamely.

"Ah well, it's a shame." Slughorn said, believing the lie at once. "We could have easily beat Gryffindor with you on our side!" He chuckled and Reg found himself agreeing, despite the situation. "So where are you off to now in such a hurry?"

"I… erm… I err, left my scarf in the stands." Reg said, wishing desperately he could just leave. Slughorn frowned concernedly, then nodded and smiled.

"Well then you'd best go and get then, eh?" He said, sounding a bit more teachery.

"Yes Sir." Reg said breathlessly before running away and not looking back.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Lily was already sweating as they fought their way towards the cave, more defending themselves than actually fighting at the moment. Peter had dropped back a bit so that he was next to Rose and could help Jess.

James ran ahead to run in stride with Leila so Lily fell back ever so slightly to run with Remus so that she wouldn't be entering the cave alone. He grimaced at her as Leila and James ran into the cave. Lily and Remus ran after them and stopped, almost skidding into the Potter's.

Inside the cave was eerily quiet compared to outside where death eaters yells and their own screams had filled the air. No spells were flying around in here. It seemed this was more of a safe area… well, not really.

Behind them the death eaters from outside had lined the only exit behind Jess, Rose and Peter. To the left of the cave was Sirius, bound to a chair, his head down, his shoulders shaking. To the right of the cave was more death eaters, some of whom Lily actually recognized. But it was the three people directly in front of them that made them all freeze.

On the left was Sirius's cousin Bellatrix, her wand at Leila's throat. Leila ignored it and stared at Sirius; terrified. On the right, was Lucias Malfoy with his wand at James's throat. James glared at him; furious. And in the middle was someone Lily had hoped she'd never see.

"Well, well. We were hoping you'd come along." Voldemort said softly in a voice that sent shivers up Lily's spine. Lily noticed Sirius lifting his head up and was shocked to see his face deathly pale and streaked with tears. His grey eyes however were plagued with guilt and anger. He caught Lily's eye and his lips tightened. He shook his head and looked down again. Lily looked at Remus in despair.

"Let. Him. Go." Leila growled fiercely. Lily saw Sirius shudder.

"Oh dear, not co-operating very well are we?" Voldemort said, sounding amused.

"LET HIM GO YOU BASTARD!" James roared, trying to duck out of the way of Malfoy's wand. But within a second Bellatrix and Malfoy were grasping Leila and James so they couldn't move, wands against their temples. Leila whimpered and Bellatrix cackled. Lily made a strangled, angry sound and without knowing it, raised her wand, pointing at the first person she saw, which was, unfortunately, the Dark Lord himself. She glared into the red eyes as bravely as she could. He grinned cruelly back at her and moved backwards, into the shadows.

"Very well, you seem to want a fight. That is what you'll get. Bellatrix, you know what to do." He said, then he was -supposedly- gone.

Death eaters were suddenly closing in on them, shooting spells at them from every direction. Lily immediately started to defend herself, and to her amazement sent a death eater into a wall with a flash of red light.

Then she lost all trace of normal thoughts as she went into a fighting stance.

**X-x-X**

The children were faring badly. One especially wasn't coping well at all. The Potters and the mudblood were doing fine though, picking out the weaker death eaters to duel.

The fight was becoming faster and more spells were flying around. Voldemort could predict what was going to happen. He could see Black with his head down in the corner, silently fuming. This would probably do everyone some good. It would make this easier to get over with.

Cackling, he raised his wand and pointed it at the centre of the fight.

Then there was a huge bang and a shock wave ran through the cave sending everyone flying.

Yes. That would do it.

**X-x-X**

Leila screeched and fell backwards, knocking her head on the ground. She looked around to see everyone of the death eaters still relatively on their feet. The others were all on the floor. Leila scrambled to her feet and picked out the weakest death eater within twenty feet of her. She stunned him and leapt over him, dodging spells. She had to get to Sirius who was still tied to a chair in a corner, his shoulders shuddering.

Leila made a clear path for herself by picking off the weaker looking death eaters and finally reached Sirius. She fell to her knees and cut the ropes with a spell, then cast the strongest shield spell she knew around them. Sirius gasped, fell to the floor and looked up, straight into Leila's eyes.

Refusing to be distracted by the storm grey orbs, Leila put a hand on his shoulder. "Sirius! Are you Ok? Did they hurt you?" She asked urgently. But to her surprise Sirius didn't answer. He glared at her, looking unbelievably angry. The storm grey of his eyes turned so dark it was almost black. Leila suddenly felt a bit scared but kept her face relatively blank.

"What have you _done_?" He roared.

"Sirius! I-" Leila said, bewildered.

"What are you doing here? Why did you come? They'll kill you! They'll kill all of you!" Sirius's anger transformed to pain within a second.

"Sirius! We had to come! We knew who'd taken you! We searched everywhere! We had to come and help you! I mean, more help is coming but we just had to find you first!" Leila was hurt, why didn't he understand? Wasn't he pleased to see her here for him? Wouldn't he do the same thing if the roles were switched?

"Help? What? Where's help? There are only 8 of us! Do you realise how outnumbered-"

"Sirius it's Ok!" Leila interrupted. "Regulas is helping is us. He's gone to get Dumbledore." Maybe Sirius would see that they'd be Ok if he knew his brother was helping too. But instead his jaw dropped open and his eyes clouded over in fury.

"HE WHAT? Leila this is it! It's a trap! They're going to get you're fathers notes and they're going to kill us! It would've been just me but now you've killed all of us! We're all going to _die_!!" He glared fiercely at her.

"W-what?" Leila spluttered.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Sirius roared. "WE'RE DEAD!" He scowled, making him look a lot less like Leila's boyfriend and a lot more like one of the death eaters. "Why did you come? Why? Why me? I'm not worth it! I'm just the stupid son of a death eater and they're taking me back to where I should belong! WHY DID YOU COME?" He had tears on his cheeks. Leila's own eyes clouded up.

"I couldn't lose you." She said in a teary, broken voice that said she already had. Sirius's expression changed again. He stared, horrified at Leila and guilt shadowed his eyes. Then the shield bubble around them faltered and a strong hand gripped Leila's arm and tugged her back. She screamed.

"NO! LEILA!" Sirius yelled, lurching forwards. But more death eaters crowded him, forcing him to fight. Leila wrenched herself out of the grip on her arm and blinked away tears, forcing herself to do the same.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Severus tore up the stairs leading to the girls' dorm, completely disillusioned. He took the bronze key out of his pocket and ran straight to the white dresser in the corner.

The room was neat and easy to find his way around. He pushed the key into a small box but it wouldn't turn. He tried the top drawer of the dresser and it slid open easily.

Severus grinned and pulled out an old shoe box. He cast as many unlocking charms as he could think of in rapid succession. After a few minutes of trying different combinations, it made a clicking sound and the top popped off.

Severus took the charmed brown paper package out and pushed it into the bag he had slung over one shoulder.

Brimming with pride and satisfaction, he briefly searched the room for second copies, thinking joyously of how the Dark Lord would reward him for this!

After finding nothing, he ran from the tower and hurried towards Hogsmeade where eight of his peers, struggled to fight against a number of death eaters, with ten times more experience than them.

Severus chuckled to himself, startling a passing first year. Of course they would all perish. After all, how could they possibly win?

_**A.N-**__Sorry that this chapter is kinda short but there should be another one up soon where the extreme climax of the story occurs so get ready!!_

_By the way, this battle runs until chapter 45, just so ya know! ;)_

_Chapter 43: __**Running for help**__ …REVIEW!!!_

**Toff.x**


	43. Chapter 43: Running for Help

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

_Warning: Death in this chapter. BYOT (bring your own tissues)_

**Chapter Forty Three- Running for help**

Horace Slughorn hurried into the staffroom, wheezing. There was a slightly panicked, worn out expression on his face when the other teachers turned from their playful bantering to smirk at him; the head of the losing Quidditch Team's House.

Then they saw his panic and the smirks faded. Horace stopped and took a few breaths, trying to keep them normal. He glanced around and saw that Dumbledore wasn't there.

"Where's… Albus?" He panted. Minerva frowned at him.

"He went away for ministry business as soon as the game finished. Surely you remember." She said in a confused tone. Horace groaned. "Why? What happened?" Minerva asked worriedly.

"I ran into Regulas Black on my way back from the stands after going back to retrieve my cloak which I left behind." He began.

"I thought he was sick." Said Professor Gerig.

"So did I. He said he'd been sick yesterday and Poppy had told him not to exercise for a few days so he'd just turned up at the game to watch." Everyone turned to Poppy who was celebrating the first Gryffindor verses Slytherin game without injury in almost twenty years. She frowned.

"I didn't have Regulas in yesterday." She said.

"Regulas told me he had gone back to retrieve his scarf… which he was wearing. When he left I saw him running off in the direction of Hogsmeade where I could see bright flashes of light coming from the big cave up there. I went to check out the Slytherin common room; only two or three of the seventh years were present. The others were all said to be sick. They were the same group Albus voiced his concerns about a few weeks ago." Horace could see the other teacher's starting to look extremely concerned. "I also heard a few of the Gryffindor team members discussing the whereabouts of their captain. 'Have you seen James or Sirius anywhere?' One of them said. 'No. I haven't seen Leila or Rose either.' The other replied. Then they mentioned that none of the Gryffindor seventh years have been seen since the game."

"Oh my goodness." Minerva hurried from the room to go to the Gryffindor common room. "Send word to Albus." She called over her shoulder.

Horace grimaced around at the other teachers. This would not end well.

**X-x-X-x-X**

It was a disaster as Sirius saw it. They were trapped with no way out. They'd been sentenced to death.

He was still angry, but not at his friends. They were just trying to help him (whether he was worth it or not) and he knew that if it had been someone else captured, he'd have done the same thing.

But they were still sentenced to death and they were barely managing to keep the death eaters a few metres away from them.

Many of them were bleeding or injured, Sirius wouldn't be surprised if someone among them sported a broken bone.

"Crucio!" He heard Bellatrix's voice from somewhere nearby. Having experienced a Cruciatus curse from Bellatrix before, Sirius automatically ducked, but the curse hadn't been intended for him.

Leila's screams made him wince and lose focus for a second. Then he was hit in the arm by someone's curse and yelled out in pain as an inch deep gash suddenly appeared on my arm through the now ripped fabric of his robes. He ducked away from the three death eaters duelling him and quickly cast a charm onto the gash so it would stop bleeding. He really didn't want to pass out due to blood loss.

Leila's screams were louder this time, making Sirius a thousand times guiltier than he had been before. What if one of them died? The last thing he'd ever said to her was that she'd killed them all. He should have told her it'd be Ok. Even if she didn't believe him. Even if he didn't believe himself. He should have reassured her. Told her he'd have done the same if it'd been her captured. He should have told her he loved her.

"Crucio." Bellatrix cackled. Sirius prepared himself for Leila's screams but it wasn't hers that he heard. It was his own.

The force of the curse was much stronger than it had been at family gatherings in Bellatrix's teenage years when she practiced her cursing on Sirius when he was unable to do anything about it due to being underage.

He writhed in pain and screamed countless times as the pain shot over his wrists and ankles, then his arms and legs, then his chest. Finally the last shot of pain ripped across his throat and he screamed before landing on the floor, looking up at his cousin.

She had Leila petrified on the floor by her feet, staring at him in agony. Anger clouded his eyes.

Sirius yelled as many random curses as he could think of and Bellatrix stumbled backwards before disapparating with a cloud of black smoke. He scowled, cowardly death eaters. Sure, they can disapparate but all of us are jinxed so we can't!

Before more death eaters could get to them (they were swarming around everywhere among the chaos) Sirius un-petrified Leila and pulled her to her feet. She tugged away from him with tears in her eyes and backed away.

"Leila!" He yelled after her. But she had gone.

**X-x-X**

Leila focused on fighting and staying away from Bellatrix.

She didn't think of the dark look in Sirius's eyes that made him look like the family he apparently belonged to.

She didn't think about the way he'd glared at her as she lay there helpless at the foot of his cousin.

She didn't think about the pure anger in his voice as he cursed his family without a second thought.

She didn't think about his determined, twisted expression as he writhed on the ground in pain.

And she most certainly didn't think of his face as he screamed at her and told her that they would all die. That he wasn't worth it. That he was where he belonged.

She just kept on fighting as if nothing else mattered.

**X-x-X**

Peter was doing relatively well. He wasn't managing to incapacitate any death eaters for more than a few seconds but he was alive and that's all that mattered… apart from Jess.

She yelped and screamed from somewhere nearby, limping with a blood drenching her shoulder. Her hand shook as she held it out in front of each other, stammering spells of defence.

Then quite suddenly, the death eaters surrounding both Peter and Jess dropped back slightly, moving aside for someone else.

"Regulas!" Peter cried in relief. Regulas turned in surprise to Peter, his eyes wide with fear. Death eaters jeered and snarled at Regulas who now looked uneasy.

"Is Sirius Ok?" He asked immediately. Peter nodded.

"Is help com-" Peter broke off. Regulas was already walking away. He stalked off in the direction of Lucias Malfoy who was duelling James furiously.

The death eaters were approaching Peter and Jess once more, leering at them.

"It was a trap." Jess whimpered; mortified. "Regulas was on their side!" She turned to Peter, scared of fighting again now that she knew that no one was coming to save them. Peter glanced at the entrance to the cave. There was an empty gap that one of them could probably squeeze through if they needed to escape anytime soon. Peter spun round to face Jess.

"Run!" He yelled. "Get help!" Jess nodded and began running at once. "I love you!" He called after her. She shot a desperate look over her shoulder and kept going until she was out of sight.

When Peter looked back at the events that followed, he always saw them in slow motion, and sort of red tinted. He had known something bad was going to happen. Just not this bad.

There was a ear-splitting scream and a fragile figure, like a large, red-haired rag doll was being literally thrown across the room.

Without thinking, Peter cast a basic cushioning charm on the wall beside him. It was weak and wasn't very big, but as Lily landed against the wall, her head hit the cushioning charm instead of the hard stone wall. Her left arm however wasn't so lucky. The crack seemed to amplified by the way all other noise in the cave seemed to have dampened for Peter.

Lily screamed but as concerned as Peter was, that wasn't what he focused on. James's voice echoed around the cave. "L.I.L.Y!" He roared. There was a deafening 'bang' and about six different coloured lights exploded around the cave, knocking several people over, including Peter and the nearest death eater to him.

Peter slammed into a wall and instinctively his wand jutted out against the death eater who fell on top of him.

"Stupefy!" He cried, and the death eater fell backwards.

Peter straightened to see that James was now by his side, helping a dazed looking Lily up.

Peter stumbled and tried to maintain balance and proper sight… for some reason something felt very, very wrong.

**X-x-X**

Almost as soon as Jess was out of Peter's sight range, she was hit by a painful jinx on her already damaged shoulder.

She yelped and fell to the ground. Ignoring the death eaters, she tried to get up, determined to do something right and get help.

But another jinx hit her and she was unable to get up. Something hit her ankle and she heard it crack. Someone laughed. She shuffled towards the nearest cave wall for some sort of support and noticed Regulas watching her.

Red hot anger shot straight through her heart and she turned sharply, sending a stunning spell straight at the death eater who'd hexed her. He fell backwards, but there were still two men. She recognized one of them as Rodolphus Lestrange.

Another hex hit her damaged shoulder. She screeched in pain. Her screech was echoed by a blood-curdling scream. Her insides went cold as she saw Lily's body being flung across the room. She flinched inwardly at James's roar of fury. Then suddenly, everything else was insignificant.

One of the death eaters in front of her said 'cruico' and the pain ripped across her body. She screamed, writhed, kicked, sobbed, retched, but the pain didn't stop.

"STOP IT!" She tried to yell. Then the pain was dull and three, silver knives shot out from a death eaters wand. One embedded itself in her arm, one skimmed across the side of her stomach, grazing the skin. The last one missed.

Lestrange stepped over her, smiling cruelly. Jess whimpered. He opened his mouth. Jess noticed Regulas watching her with wide, terrified eyes. Just 15 years old.

"Help me." She heard herself whisper.

… She didn't see Lestrange open his mouth. She didn't hear the screams and yells around her. She didn't hear those two fatal words slip out of the man's mouth. She didn't even see a green light.

She just heard a man's kind, familiar voice in her ear.

"_We'll always be here for you honey."_

In a way, Jessica Parker had been dying before Rodolphus even said the curse.

.

.

.

_**A.N-**__What do you think? Who was the voice?_

_Please review… I haven't got many lately so I might wait until I have about seven before updating next; Reviews keep me sane!! _

_Next Chapter: __**Crucio. **_

**Toff.x**


	44. Chapter 44: Crucio

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty Four- Crucio.**

Regulas crouched, hidden, as far away from the fight as possible. He'd reported to You-Know-Who and been told that he did the job well but somehow he still felt sick to the core.

This was plan B. And plan B wasn't good.

Regulas shivered; he never expected to see anyone die. Especially Sirius. Maybe he could tolerate it one of the others died… he'd feel awful and never forgive himself, but he'd work past it. But if Sirius… he stopped his thoughts there, not wanting to even think it.

Just then, Regulas heard a scuffle to his right, close to the entrance of the cave. The Parker girl had fallen to the ground, her face twisted in pain. Blood covered her shoulder and spattered her shirt. Her strawberry blonde hair was falling out of messy pig-tails and parts of it was singed.

She made a determined face and tried to get up, but another jinx hit her. A jet of light came out of nowhere and cracked her ankle. She cried out in pain.

Familiar laughter reached Regulas's ears and he saw that it was Rodolphus Lestrange doing most of the cursing. The Parker girl met Regulas's eyes and her round face hardened into a glare, making her look a lot older than she was. Her trembling arm shot out and a jet of red light hit the death eater who'd broken her ankle. Rodolphus and his friend were still standing however and Rodolphus sent a curse at her damaged shoulder.

She let out a horrible scream which was followed by another and the form of Evans being thrown across the room. The Potter boy roared in fury and suddenly several different coloured jets of light flew across the room, one of them knocked Rodolphus's friend to the ground. Rodolphus scowled in anger and snapped 'crucio'.

Parker screamed in absolute agony. She writhed on the ground. Rodolphus cackled, enjoying himself. 'Crucio' he said again. Regulas felt sick.

Parker opened her mouth as if she were going to scream again, but instead she screwed her eyes shut and mumbled 'stop'.

Rodolphus smiled maniacally and pointed his wand at her. Three dark silver knives shot out towards the girl and Regulas instinctively looked away. When he turned back a knife was deeply embedded in her arm, another had grazed her side. Her face was twisted in agony.

"Help me." She whimpered feebly.

Then Rodolphus's face softened sickeningly. He tilted his head at Parker and smiled.

"Avada Kedavra." There was a flash of green light and Parker's form slammed into the back wall of the cave, going limp. Rodolphus cheered in triumph and turned away. "NOW!" He yelled. "NOW!" Then he disapparated in a whirl of black smoke, leaving Regulas gaping in horror at the Parker girl's corpse.

**X-x-X**

"NOW! NOW!" Someone yelled. Leila was temporarily distracted and glanced around. Luckily for her, the death eater she was fighting also stopped and looked around as if in search of something.

Then Leila's eyes focused on a scene just behind the death eaters she'd been fighting.

Jess lay motionless against the wall of the cave. Her shoulder drenched in blood, her clothes torn and hair singed, her ankle twisted at an odd angle. She stared at the ceiling with blank, lifeless eyes.

"No." Leila whispered. She then caught sight of Regulas beside the body, staring at it. "No." Leila repeated, louder this time. Regulas's head snapped up to meet her gaze. His bewildered expression quickly turned to horror and he ran away from her accusing stare. "NO!" Leila screamed. Then someone grabbed her from behind and something sharp dug into her wand hand, causing her to yelp and drop her wand.

A hard, thin piece of wood pressed against her throat and a muscled arm gripped her round her waist. Suddenly the room was filled with swirls of black smoke. Soon only fourteen death eaters remained. One of them was holding Leila. Six others held the other six teenagers. Seven other death eaters were posted around the edges of the cave.

Leila saw Lucias Malfoy sneering down at James and Bellatrix beaming satisfactorily as Sirius struggled in her grip. The man who held Leila was middle-aged with a black beard.

Suddenly, Voldemort stood in the middle of the ring of captives, smiling cruelly. A huge snake slithered beside him.

"Hmmm." He said, as if thinking hard. His gaze fell on James, then Leila. "Ah, the Potters'." There was a slight scuffle as Sirius struggled and lashed out at his cousin who dug her long, blood red nails into his side. He yelped like a wounded dog and Leila felt tears sting her eyes. She blinked them back and scowled at Voldemort, mirroring her cousin's determined look. "Bring them forward." Voldemort ordered in a soft, threatening voice.

Malfoy bought James forward and James conformed stiffly. Leila was pushed forward roughly her captor knocked the wind out of her by hitting her roughly in the back. She coughed weakly and stumbled forward, trying desperately to maintain a brave stance.

There was another scuffle and Sirius struggled furiously, his eyes blazing angrily. Bellatrix grinned.

"Crucio." She said sweetly. Sirius screamed in agony. Leila and James faltered and they both closed their eyes, looking away. There were more scuffles from Remus, Rose, Lily and Peter.

"Silence." Voldemort ordered. Leila's head snapped up to glare at him. He just grinned maliciously. "Now… the Potters'."

**X-x-X**

With anger coursing through him, James scowled through his cracked glasses at the 'Dark Lord' Voldemort himself. He snarled as his name was mentioned. Voldemort just smiled wider.

"I must say… I've quite enjoyed trying to get rid of you lot." He said, almost satisfactorily. "You were most entertaining to defeat. It was I who did the defeating of course." James felt himself go rigid. So it wasn't just random death eaters who had destroyed his family; it was Voldemort himself. James never knew he could hate one being so much. Voldemort turned to Leila.

"You're father put up quite a fight, as I recall. I was surprised. He'd make a fair auror." Voldemort smiled in a sort of manic way as Leila's expression darkened at the mention of her father. "But of course, he was gone within a few minutes." He turned back to James. "_You're _father was just that bit better though, I must admit. I recall an old colleague of mine once saying something about that. Yes Orion Black was definitely right; Andrew Potter had always been a fraction more pathetic than his brother he worshipped so much."

Both James and Leila's heads snapped over to Sirius, then guiltily away again. Sirius had frozen in horror.

"Orion Black was a sick bastard." James said angrily. Voldemort glanced at Bellatrix who smiled and very subtly jabbed her wand at Sirius's throat. Sirius screamed in pain and fell to the ground; his breathing laboured. James turned his gaze to the ground in guilt.

"I don't think your friend really appreciated that comment…" Voldemort said in his high, cold voice. Leila shivered and was punished with a sharp jab in the side by her captor's wand. She yelped. "But on the topic of dear _James's_ parents…" Voldemort said kind of smugly, "I'd have to say it was your mother who really surprised me. So _weak_, so _easy_. I thought she used to be an auror! Pitiful really." James snarled and he heard scuffles from Peter and Remus. "Silence!" Voldemort snapped before continuing. "But I suppose all that was unnecessary in the end, if it was their _children _who had the prize all along. Obviously I should have attacked you two in the first place, instead of wasting such little effort on your parents… Oh, and the wolf-parents." He tacked on as an after-thought.

Remus growled. 'Crucio' his captor said indifferently. Remus screamed the way he usually only did during his transformations. Rose whimpered.

"You haven't gained anything." Leila snarled at Voldemort.

"Really?" Voldemort asked, as if intrigued. "Well, I think quite the opposite… Snape?"

"Yes Master?" James looked up to see that Snivellous was in the cave now, hanging around by the entrance with his face guarded by his curtain of greasy hair. It was now Lily's time to scuffle, but luckily she wasn't punished.

"The package?" Voldemort asked, holding out one hand. Snivellous placed a small package wrapped in brown paper in the hand and smiled nastily. Leila gasped in horror. It was the package containing her dad's notes. "Now, _Leila Potter_, it seems this package has been charmed with spells of _your_ creation." Voldemort said. Leila shook her head, determined. "Would you care to tell us what these spells are?"

"No." Leila said evenly.

"What about if…"

"_No_." Leila repeated.

"Hmmm." Voldemort paused. "Well in that case… Crucio." Leila screamed louder than Lily had earlier, when being thrown across the room. She writhed and twisted, causing her captor to drop her. She collapsed onto the floor, gasping. "will you tell us now?" Voldemort questioned.

"No." Leila panted.

"Crucio." Leila screamed again,

"NO! NO! I WON'T TELL YOU!" She sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"Bellatrix?" Voldemort asked. Bellatrix smiled delightedly and then Sirius was screaming.

"Don't. Leila. Don't." He choked between gasping sobs. Voldemort turned to glance at Malfoy and another death eater. Pain ripped through James's gut and he heard Lily screaming somewhere nearby, amplifying the pain. "Don't. Leila." Sirius choked.

"Don't do it Leil." Lily insisted. Leila turned her terrified eyes onto James. He stared back and shook his head. She still remained uncertain.

"Leila… no... you have to… trust me." Sirius begged before screaming again after another of Bellatrix's curses. Leila, to James's surprise, stared at her boyfriend blankly for several seconds before turning to Voldemort with a resolved expression.

"Ok. I'll tell." She said. James felt his heart sink. She… she betrayed them… he glanced at Sirius who was watching Leila, his face a sickly shade of green.

"NO!" Lily screeched. "No! NO! Leila you can't!". Voldemort ignored her and nodded at Leila's previous captor who held her hands behind her back. Voldemort readied his wand above the box. Leila opened her mouth to reveal the spell and the room fell silent apart from Sirius's gasping sobs.

Then Leila raised her leg backwards, kicking her captor in the groin and snatching his wand.

As a natural reflex Voldemort sent a flash of green light at her, Sirius screamed "LEILA NO!" and Bellatrix shot magical cords out of her wand which stuck around him, making sure he couldn't move.

Leila lunged to one side, avoiding the curse. But the giant snake at Voldemort's side struck, it's great fangs biting into her arm and wrestling her to the floor.

"_NO!_" Sirius roared. Leila's eyes widened in pain.

"Tell me the spell!" Voldemort ordered furiously, pointing his wand at her. She took several deep breathes before weakly twitching her good arm (still holding a wand) towards the package.

"In-Incendio!" She mumbled.

"Wha- NO!" Voldemort howled in rage as the box containing Andrew Potter's notes burst into flames. The snake extracted it's fangs from Leila's arm in alarm at his master's anger.

"Yes." Leila mumbled faintly, before her head hit the floor and all hell broke loose.

_**A.N-**__Dramatic, no? I hope it was Ok. I was really worried about the quality of this chapter so I'd really appreciate some reviews!!! (7 perhaps??)_

_Stay Tuned. Next Chapter: __**Gone**_

**Toff.x**


	45. Chapter 45: Gone

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

"_In-Incendio!" Leila mumbled. _

"_Wha- NO!" Voldemort howled in rage as the box containing Andrew Potter's notes burst into flames. The snake extracted it's fangs from Leila's arm in alarm at his master's anger._

"_Yes." Leila mumbled faintly, before her head hit the floor and all hell broke loose._

**Chapter Forty Five- Gone**

Lily watched in horror as the notes fell to the ground in ashes. But she had little time to think about that.

The moment Leila's head hit the ground everything went lopsided and hard to understand. Every nerve in Lily's body screamed to fight. As Leila went completely limp and her wounded arm began to bleed heavily onto the ground, Sirius roared with fury and broke free from Bellatrix's cursed ropes.

Lily struggled against her own confused captor as Sirius dove towards Leila, grabbed the wand she'd used to destroy the notes and pointed it at the ceiling.

"Reverto sibimet!" He cried at the exact same time Voldemort snapped "Avada Kedavra!" and Bellatrix screeched "Canificina!"

Sirius's spell took effect first and a jet of bright blue light twisted into the air before plummeting down onto the captors and returning the Gryffindor's wands to their owners.

Then Bellatrix's spell hit him and he immediately collapsed onto the floor in pain, causing Voldemort's curse to miss him.

All of this took place in the space of about five seconds and Lily reacted immediately, completely aware of everything around her.

With her wand back in her hand, she hurled her captor away from her and drove forward towards Voldemort himself. James and Rose had done the same whereas Peter and Remus were stuck fighting their captors. Sirius was locked in a fierce duel with Bellatrix and her husband.

Voldemort was almost easy at first, sending several killing curses at them with little to no aim. All the three of them had to do was dodge… But then a jet of green light very narrowly missed James's head and Lily was filled with such a strong hate that it was physically painful to bear.

"Tergiversatio!" She yelled. Voldemort blocked it. "Impedimenta! Pupugi morsus!"

"Tectum alica!" Rose interjected, shooting away Voldemort's Cruciatus. The Dark Lord was unperturbed and continued to fire off dark spells Lily had never even heard of before.

She, Rose and James continued to fire spells at him and dodge and cast spells to protect themselves and each other. But it didn't make much difference.

Lily couldn't help but start to think about how hopeless their situation was…

"Sectumsempra!" someone said from behind them. Rose screamed and fell forwards, exposing a gaping red wound on her back. Horrified, Lily gazed at the death eater who had cast the spell; Severus. Lily's eyes darkened.

"Impedimenta! Expello!" She cast the spells quickly and easily, forcing her ex-best friend to crumple into unconsciousness. It was as if he'd fallen willingly. "Ferula! Protego!" She added. A shield appeared in front of a now bandaged Rose who gasped in pain, but stood up to fight anyway.

"Torqueo!" Voldemort snapped at her. Rose deflected the curse and it ricocheted into Lily's already broken arm, slicing I open. Lily screeched and Rose's eyes widened in fear.

James took this out on Voldemort and fired off numerous hexes, spells and curses at him in fury. Rose started to fire off as many shield spells as she could remember and Lily grimaced and threw a few of her own spells in.

Now with most of her focus on the pain in her arm and worry for her friends, Lily had very little attention turned to her fighting and she knew that was dangerous.

Even when James was hit by an unknown curse and fell to the ground almost in slow motion with his face twisted in pain, Lily found it hard to concentrate. She was tiring… She wouldn't last much longer-

"DUMBLEDORE!!" It was Narcissa Black, screeching from the entrance to the cave. "Dumbledore's in the village!"

"Incidere!" Voldemort roared, hitting Rose in the chest at the exact same moment that James and Lily cried "STUPEFY!" in unison.

The two jets of brilliant red light hit Voldemort at the same time and there was a loud bang before a billow of black smoke went up and Voldemort was gone. From the spot he had stood moments before, the thick black mist spread out across the whole cave, causing each death eater to disappear with loud cracks. Only a ghostly green skull hovered before Lily and James. It hovered for a few seconds before rising up into the roof of the cave and going straight through.

And then, too fast for Lily to comprehend… it was over.

The smell of burning, sweat and blood lingered in the air and for a few precious seconds, all Lily and the others could do was stand there, waiting for the danger to return.

But it didn't. And everyone seemed to grasp this at the same time, as if someone had flicked a switch.

Rose (who had been standing unsteadily, her eyes still wide with pain from Voldemort's last curse) stumbled backwards and let out a whimper of relief before tumbling to the ground; only semi-conscious.

Remus rushed towards her on weak legs and as he knelt beside her she leant against him and the couple began to murmur to each other comfortingly.

Peter fell to his knees, breathing heavily and coughing a few times before mumbling "We did it" In disbelief, and collapsing to the floor. Remus looked over at him and muttered; "fainted" in relieved tones.

Lily sighed. "Oh my God." She muttered weakly, her arm throbbing in agony. Then James was at her side, embracing her and stroking her hair lovingly.

"It'll be Ok now." He told her in a raspy voice. Lily let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He was right. They were safe.

Then the cave was shattered by an ear-splitting cry. Lily and James both turned to see Sirius on the ground with Leila limp in his arms.

Lily's heart froze. Sirius had her on his lap and was supporting her head with one hand and holding his wand with his other. One of Leila's lifeless arms was visible from where Lily stood. Two deep gashes were embedded into it. Voldemort's snake had left it's mark.

Sirius was sobbing over her, his face twisted in even worse agony than when Bellatrix was cursing him.

Lily heard James's sharp intake of breath and felt a horrible jolt in her stomach. James made sure she could stand before rushing to Sirius's side. Sirius looked up for a brief second, his eyes so haunted Lily could barely look at him. But after he saw that it was James, his attention went straight back to Leila.

"I'm sorry Leila! I'm so sorry!" He was whispering. "This is all my fault! I never should have said… I love you Leila! Please! You can't leave me!" Rose and Remus were watching in horror. "Leila _please_! I'm so sorry! Please!" He begged. "I-" He was cut off by a choked yelp.

Sirius jumped as Leila's eyes snapped open and she jerked to life, then winced in pain. Sirius's eyes were wide.

"Leila?" He said, his voice riddled with relief. Leila coughed and blinked hazily up at him.

"Sirius?" She whispered, confused.

"Leila!" His face lit up at the sight of her and Lily immediately relaxed. James didn't. Leila stared blearily round the room, her gaze landing on Peter.

"Jess!" She rasped worriedly.

"It's Ok Leila! She managed to go for help! She's safe!" Rose said calmly. Leila's eyes widened fearfully and she shook her head.

"No!" She insisted, "No… Jess!" Her gaze swiveled to a dark corner of the cave. Lily's heart sank once more. But somehow this was a much heavier feeling of doom than when she'd seen Leila. She followed her friend's gaze to the corner. A lifeless figure was shoved against the wall.

Sirius and James's jaws dropped open and Remus mumbled "Oh Merlin". Rose let out a strangled gasp and shook her head fiercely. Her already labored breathing was louder and heavier and she started to cough.

Leila tried to move her arm but winced in pain. Sirius reluctantly turned his attention back to her. Lily hardly acknowledged them however.

Without knowing what she was doing, she walked over to the lifeless figure near the wall. She knelt beside it and rolled it over onto it's back. Then she stared at it.

Glassy eyes stared back. No longer were they bright sparkly blue, but dull grey. Strawberry blonde hair fell tattered around the white face, twisted into an expression of silent agony.

Knives were embedded into her arm and the side of her stomach and dry blood coated her shoulder.

As Lily stared, a small drop of water fell down and landed on Jess's cold, unmoving hand.

She was gone. Kind, innocent Jess. The most caring, Hufflepuff-like Gryffindor Lily had ever known. She was gone! Lily couldn't believe it, she felt like she was going to be sick. Jess had been one of her best friends since first year. Six years ago they'd met. She… she couldn't just die! She was so young, hardly seventeen!!

A warm arm was slung around Lily's shoulder and a hand reached out and closed Jess's eyes with his finger. It was James.

Lily let out a small sob. "She's… not breathing…" She choked out in disbelief.

"Wh-What?" Said Rose's voice from behind them. Lily turned around and saw her and Remus nearby, Remus white-faced and supporting Rose with one arm. Lily felt her heart break. Rose was just as shy as Jess back in first year. They'd been the best of friends since the moment they met outside King's Cross Station.

"Jess…" James said when Lily didn't answer. His voice was so sad. "She… she's-"

"No!" Rose interrupted. "No. Don't say that. You're lying! She can't be!" She said, pointedly looking away from Jess's body. Remus slid his arms round her and exchanged a nervous look at James, who looked at Sirius rocking Leila (who was only semi-conscious) looking worried, then at the form of Peter, his chest rising and falling gently.

James looked back at Remus and they exchanged nods.

"I'm so, so sorry Rose. But Jess's gone." He murmured gently.

And then Rose looked Jess in the cold, lifeless face for the first time. And her face twisted in horror and she let out an ear-piercing shriek of pain.

She was gone. Jessica Claire Parker was gone. Forever.

**A.N- **_Hahaha! And you guys thought I'd kill Leila off!! Guess I gave you a bit of a fright, huh? Sorry its so depressing… but at least Voldemort's gone… ish.._

_However you do have to remember the prophecy that hasn't actually been made yet; Born to those who have __thrice__ defied him.._

_Heheh, guess you'll have to wait for the sequel for that part.._

_Next Chapter: __**Hospitalized**_

_Please review, Toff..x_

_P.S- Most of the spells used by Lily, James, Voldie and Rose : unless its an obvious JK spell, I made them up.. I think ;)_


	46. Chapter 46: Hospitalized

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty Six- Hospitalized**

Minerva hurried up the hill behind Albus. The cave ahead of them was eerily empty and Minerva felt a hideous feeling of dread as she entered.

The sight that greeted her as she did so was enough to make her feel sick.

The air was thick with the smell of blood and sweat and death. A hazy after-spell mist hang in the air and through the dim light, scorch marks and blood stains were visible on the walls and floor. Near Minerva's foot at the entrance was a dark silver knife, obviously conjured. It was blood-stained.

Straight ahead of the team of teachers who had entered was Sirius Black. He was sitting upright and trembling unhealthily. On his lap, with her head supported by his arm, was Leila Potter. And didn't she look a sight! Her usually pretty face was twisted in pain and there was a small cut above her left eye. Her skin was a sickly shade of green and her arm was twitching badly, two large gashes in it. Black was staring at her with a hopeless expression.

To the couple's right was Peter Pettigrew. He lay on the floor, almost as if he were asleep. And to their left was Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Rose Phillips, all crowded around the all too still form of Jess Parker. Minerva gasped in horror, but no sooner had she done that, Rose Phillips let out an ear-splitting cry and fell to her knees in front of Parker.

"No! No, no, no!" She screeched as Lupin tried to console her and failed. James Potter was shaking Miss Evans's shoulder but she didn't seem to notice him. "NO! Jess! You can't go! You can't!" Rose wailed. Minerva could barely watch.

"Poppy!" She said urgently. But Poppy was shaking her head sadly.

"There's nothing I can do." She said softly. Sirius Black's head snapped up at her voice.

"Madame Pomphrey!" He cried in a desperate plea for help. Poppy hurried towards him and Black offered Leila to her. "Voldemort's snake bit her! I don't think she can hear me anymore!"

Minerva winced. Voldemort had been here? It was a wonder any of them had survived at all. This was an extraordinary group of teenagers… And suddenly, Minerva felt an overwhelming sense of pride and protectiveness about the seven students (still _students_!) in front of her.

She was suddenly aware of James Potter walking towards Albus and focused her attention on him.

"Professors." He said in a weak, raspy voice. "We're really sorry we didn't come to get help sooner… but they took Sirius and we had no idea how many of them there were, and which ones would be here. But I think they've gone now. And Leila destroyed what they were after. So I think maybe things might turn out Ok."

Minerva watched him with great respect. James Potter had come a long way from the playful young boy he had started Hogwarts as.

She watched as he stared gravely up at his headmaster. And she knew that however stupid these students had been coming up here, they had done the best thing.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Sirius woke up and squinted around him. It was still dark outside but the hospital wing was lit by a single lamp to the bed on his left.

Wincing, he sat up and looked towards the light. James was sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, watching Lily as she slept. Across the room Sirius saw Remus, Rose and Peter all fast asleep and he shuddered at the looming prospect of explaining what had happened to Jess.

To his right, someone whimpered and Sirius looked around to see Leila sleeping fitfully, despite the fact that she was probably under the influence of a dreamless sleep potion.

With a small smile at James, Sirius slipped out of bed and made his way over to his girlfriend. There was a note on Leila's chart reading _To be moved to St Mungo's within 24 hours!_ He reached out and took her hand. It was cold and sweaty. As he took it in his own, Leila shivered. He stepped forwards and brushed her hair from her face.

Her other hand was curled into a fist. Her whole arm was shaking and there was a smooth white scar above her left eye. As gently as possible he leant forward and pressed his lips to the scar.

"I'm so sorry Leila. I swear, I never meant anything to happen to you. I love you so much." He whispered into her ear. She made a tiny humming sound and shifted positions.

Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed at him, confused.

"Sirius?" She asked softly. Sirius squeezed her hand and gazed into her eyes, stroking her hair with his own free hand.

"It's Ok. I'm here." He whispered. She frowned at him.

"Sirius… you don't belong with them." She mumbled, her words slurred. Sirius sucked in a sharp intake of breath, recalling his own harsh words from before; _Why me? I'm not worth it! I'm just the stupid son of a death eater and they're taking me back to where I belong! _

He remembered Leila's own tortured words; _I couldn't lose you._

"You don't belong with them." Leila repeated, almost sadly. "You belong with me Sirius." She told him. "Please stay with me. You promised…" Her voice was so fragile. Sirius was terrified that he was losing her.

"I'm here, Leila, I'm here with you." He assured her. "I'm not leaving I promise." She frowned at him as if confused. Sirius smiled sincerely. "I love you." He told her. Her frown disappeared and her eyes widened as if smiling at him, regaining their electric spark.

"I love you." She echoed sleepily. "Thank you." Then she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

As she did, she squeezed Sirius's hand… and suddenly, he felt confident that everything would be Ok in the end…

**X-x-X-x-X**

In the morning, the room was very quiet and full of injured 17/18-year-olds. Only James was awake and he was tired after a night of troubled, patchy sleep. He wanted to get up and sit at Lily's bedside but Madame Pomphrey insisted he sit in his own bed while he took small, regular sips of pain-relieving potion that would help heal the few minor curse injuries he'd received while fighting.

He sat in silence for the whole day, thinking of the battle and of Jess and glancing at Peter, wondering how he was going to break the news to his good-as brother.

Josh and Samantha had stayed at Hogwarts overnight and arrived in the Hospital Wing at dawn to visit Rose. She woke up out of her deep, potion-controlled sleep at 7:00am and sobbed into her brother's arms for half an hour before Madame Pomphrey came over and sadly handed her a few healing potions to send her back to sleep. She had a concussion that had been dealt with and some mild damage from fighting, along with being quite 'unstable' emotionally that Madame Pomphrey said was due to shock.

Once Rose was sleeping again, Samantha left and Josh stayed a few minutes longer to talk to Remus, Lily and James who had all woken briefly around the same time as Rose, before Lily fell asleep on her own and Remus was given another sleeping potion. Sirius woke up at 8:00 when only James and Lily were still awake. He was a stubborn patient, refusing to listen to Madame Pomphrey and insisting he sit with Leila until Pomphrey gave up and moved his bed up against Leila's. When he was close enough to sit next to her in his own bed and hold her hand he relaxed and although he didn't go to sleep he took a few potions from Madame Pomphrey that made him drowsy and not in a state to talk.

James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were all in reasonable states and although Remus and Peter had suffered worse from the battle than James and Sirius they weren't in much pain as the potions Madame Pomphrey made them drink made them sleep through most of the healing process.

Sirius was pretty much fine apart from exhausting himself by staying awake to watch over Leila. He also suffered a few times from minor memory loss which Madame Pomphrey said was a side-effect from the potion given to help people who'd suffered from the Cruciatus curse.

Lily was in a similar state to James with a broken arm to be seen to aswell. She was awake at 9:00am when her parents arrived along with Peter's mother and Professors McGonagall, Slughorn and Dumbledore.

James watched interestedly as a tall, skinny, blonde woman hurried to Lily's side with tears in her eyes followed by a broad-shouldered man with fiery red hair and almond shaped, green eyes.

"Mum! Dad!" Lily cried as her parents drew a curtain round Lily's bed to give them some privacy.

Peter's mother smiled kindly at James and hurried over to her sleeping son's side where she sat down quietly.

Madame Pomphrey went to talk to McGonagall and the two women began making plans to take Leila to St Mungo's immediately. Sirius demanded that he go with her and Madame Pomphrey reluctantly agreed.

Professor Dumbledore sat down next to James and asked kindly and carefully if James could recount the entire story. James agreed and Dumbledore frowned to himself as the story was told. He asked James if Leila had a spare copy of the notes but James didn't know. He told James that the Hogwarts students involved with Voldemort's side of the fighting (including Regulas Black) had been sought after and Slughorn had severely punished them after Dumbledore talked to them and informed both their parents and the ministry. James asked if any of them were injured and Dumbledore replied 'no', though he guessed that Voldemort had some healers on his side helping him aswell.

Dumbledore told James and the other students awake that he was very proud to call them his students and hoped that they would all feel better soon. The funeral for Jess would be organised in due course by Jess's mother and step-father.

By 12:00, the parents and professors had gone to chat elsewhere and Sirius and Leila were at St Mungo's. James sat in silence in his bed and thought to himself, wondering if it was at all likely that any of them would make it out of this war alive..

He sighed to himself, allowing a bitter, twisted smile; _one down, seven to go._

**X-x-X-x-X**

By the afternoon when everyone except Peter was awake, Madame Pomphrey had given up trying to keep the seven of them in beds. Instead she had given everyone extra potions to keep them well and insisted that only Peter remain in bed.

James and Remus both knew that they would need to be here for Peter and Lily and Rose needed to support James and Remus. It also kind of helped that Lily and Rose were as close (or almost as close) to Jess as Peter had been.

While Leila and Sirius left and Remus turned these thoughts over and over in head, trying to convince himself that this was his rightful duty as a friend, as a brother, he suddenly noticed his own use of the past tense when referring to Jess.

He saw Peter sleeping calmly in his bed and shuddered. He didn't want to do this. But he had to. It was the only way.

As the clock on the wall hit the time Pomphrey had told them, Peter's eyes fluttered open and Remus and Rose, and James and Lily took their places on either side of his bed.

Under Remus's arm, Rose was trembling, trying to stay strong and keep the tears at bay. On the other side of Pete's bed, Remus could see Lily doing the same.

Peter glanced up at them and smiled a shaky smile.

"We did it!" He mumbled happily.

No one smiled back. He didn't seem to notice. With a sigh, he pulled himself upright and grinned.

"So Dumbledore found us?" He asked cheerfully. James nodded mutely. "And everyone's Ok! We're all alive!" He said almost smugly. Remus looked away. He couldn't do this. He felt sick. James bit his lip and exchanged a glance with Lily. "Right?" He asked, suddenly worried. No one answered. Peter's eyes widened, lighting up in horrified realisation. "Is it Leila?" He asked worriedly, his eyes snapping to Lily's broken expression and James's mask of forced calm. Remus could almost see the exact moment when he realised that Sirius was nowhere to be seen. "You-Know-Who's snake! It didn't-"

"Leila's been sent to Mungo's." James said. "Sirius has gone with her. They think she'll be Ok."

"So who's…?" Peter looked so confused. Rose's shoulders shuddered with a silent sob. "I mean… All of you are here! And Jess… Jess…" He trailed off, looking from Rose's crumpled face to Lily's head buried into James's chest. From Remus's bowed head to James's slightly nauseous expression.

"I'm really sorry Wormtail." James said in a voice of forced calm. "One of the death eaters caught her on her way out… She… she didn't make it."

Peter stared at him blankly. "Wha-? Bu-but she- she was- I mean she said- she told me- there was- you- her- them- No!" He ended up saying loudly. "No! No. That's not true. You're lying to me! This isn't real!" Peter babbled. James closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"Wormtail… I mean, we never meant for this to happen… we just… do you… It's, it's true Wormtail. And we wish it wasn't, but it is. Jess… Jess is gone." Remus said sadly. Peter stared at him in horror. Rose sobbed into his shoulder.

"But… she can't be! She can't! She said! She promised! I did!! I told her I'd be there and I wasn't and- No! No! I can't believe you! I won't! You can't- she can't- I couldn't- She isn't- No!" He was almost yelling now. Screaming. He kept on going until the screams became moans and sobs. "No! No! NO! Jess! No! Not Jess! Not my Jess! _No!_" He bent over and Remus and James put a hand on either of his shoulders.

And there they stayed, until Madame Pomphrey came along to give Peter his next potion…

**X-x-X**

Up to an hour later, Peter finally fell silent. Only Remus had remained by his bed. James had gone to visit Leila. Lily and Rose were in their dorm, mourning together.

Remus still had his hand on Pete's shoulder, though his mind was focused on Rose. She was slowly becoming more silent. And Remus didn't want her to lose sight of reality, like she'd done at the very beginning of the year… Rose had a naturally calm and confident demeanour but she had become fragile over the past year and it took very little to worry or frighten her. Since Easter, she had been getting so much better at coping. She gained confidence and took pride in her increasing talent in defence against the dark arts, considering becoming an auror after graduation to stop Voldemort and his death eaters. After the death of her best friend (which Remus suspected Rose had twisted to make it seem like her fault), and now going into the harsh reality of life outside of Hogwarts calm, protected grounds, Remus feared that she wouldn't be able to cope. That she would retreat so far into the protective shell she'd built that no one would be able to get her out again. Remus knew that he had to keep her out of the shell, and into the open where her calm, confident self could do some good.

"Moony?" Peter's raspy voice was blank and quiet, but enough to jerk Remus back to reality.

"Yeah Wormtail?" He said, all troubled thoughts stashed away for the time being.

"Who was it?" Peter asked, staring at the foot of his bed.

"Huh?"

"Who was it? The death eater that… that killed J-J…her?" Peter took a deep shuddering breath and Remus winced.

"I-I don't know, Wormtail… I didn't see. No one we know I don't think. We were fighting the ones we knew, weren't we?" Remus was right; James had been fighting Snape, Remus had fought Lucias Malfoy and Sirius had fought Bellatrix and either Lily or Leila had fought Narcissa and Regulas at some point before Jess fell.

Peter's fists clenched and he gnashed his teeth together. Remus was shocked at the tone of undiluted, pure hatred that his voice possessed when he next spoke.

"I'll kill them!" He snarled, "I'll make sure I'll find out exactly who they are and hunt them down and show them how it feels when the person you love is taken away from you!"

"Pete-" Remus began, Peter snapped his head round and glared.

"I hate them!" He said in a low, dangerous voice. "I HATE THEM!" And then he keeled over and began to sob once more. Peter was a kind person… many people assumed he was hufflepuff when they first met him. He had disliked people, yes, but Remus knew that it had never been like this. Never this strong. Jess; his only love had led him to his only hate; Voldemort and the death eaters.

**X-x-X-x-X**

That afternoon, James arrived at St Mungo's to find Sirius in the waiting room.

"Padfoot? What's happening?" He asked worriedly, as he saw the desperate expression on his friend's face. Sirius looked up in relief.

"They're sorting out her arm giving her potions and performing weird spells and stuff and then they came out and told me she had an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients in this potion and she had to be moved to another ward and I have no idea how she is and they won't let me see her because it's family only!" Sirius babbled it all out in one sentence, his eyes wide and fearful.

"Where is she now?" James asked, after quickly processing what Sirius had just said. Sirius groaned and pointed to the desk to his left where a bored, middle-aged witch sat, shuffling through parchments. "Look, Padfoot, I'll go in and find out what's happening, then I'll come out and get you! I'm sure Leila will ask for you while I'm in there and then you can come and see her, okay?" Sirius nodded gratefully and mumbled "thanks mate" while maintaining his worried expression.

James flashed him a fleeting smile and ran over to the desk where the bored witch sat.

**X-x-X**

Leila shivered as the healer; Healer Roberts, stood at the counter a little way away from the end of her bed. He was waving his wand, mixing potions together. Leila shivered again.

"Oh, are you cold dear? I'll get another blanket!" The other healer in the room said immediately, bustling off to fetch one.

Since her allergic reaction, the healers had been treating Leila like a small child that might collapse any moment. She hated it, she tried to keep silent, but her arm was throbbing with snake venom and potions with ingredients that made her skin break out in gross rashes. She couldn't help but sneeze or whimper every now and then and she wished Sirius was allowed to come and see her, just so she could have someone familiar around to help her instead of the healers. They didn't know her. They were just a couple of random strangers who knew a lot about potions. Leila wondered if she would become one of these people when she left school and became a healer.

The second healer came in with a blanket and smiled at Leila.

"I believe you have a visitor!" She announced cheerfully. Leila's face lit up and she glanced at the door to see James grinning at her.

"James!" She sighed with obvious relief.

"Hey cuz, how's it going?" He asked casual as anything, coming to sit next to her.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna be Ok." Leila said, _now that you're here._ She finished silently.

"How's your arm?"

"Painful as hell."

"You did the right thing… in the cave I mean." James reassured her solemnly, his eyes softening as he stared at her over his glasses. Leila smiled, glancing down at her bandaged arm.

"I know, it was worth- ahhh…" She trailed off as her arm twinged painfully. "…it." She finished in a squeaky voice. The healers began to fuss over her but James just reached over and squeezed her good hand, making Leila relax and smile faintly. The healers frowned and went back to the potions.

"You sure you're Ok?" James asked, his eyes concerned.

"I'm fine… What about you? And the others?" Leila said, sitting up carefully and biting her lip. James let out a long sigh.

"Well I guess I'm Ok… just a little shaken." He said slowly. "Lily and Rose have holed themselves up somewhere… to, err, mourn I guess… for… for Jess." There was a brief pause in which Leila's vision was blurred by tears and James took a deep breath and tried not to think about it. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, and, um, Moony is kinda quiet… he sits with Pete when he's not sleeping or going to get food. I think he spends most of his time worrying 'bout Rose… And Wormy… Wormy doesn't talk to anyone. He cries when he thinks we're not looking and just lies in bed, staring at the ceiling. I think his mum is coming to see him sometime soon, same with Josh… he said he's gonna come take Rose home with him. Lily was offered a chance to go home with her parents, but she doesn't want to worry them. They've been told that Jess… died… of some muggle disease.." James bit his lip and Leila rubbed at her eyes distractedly. There was a pause before she managed to speak again.

"Wh-What about Sirius?"

James looked up at her and studied her blank face for a long time. "He's in the waiting room… He refuses to move until he's allowed in to see you." Leila chewed on her lip.

"Is he?"

"If you want him here, then he can come."

Leila managed a small smile. "I do want him here… please?" She directed the question at the healers in the room. The second healer smiled knowingly and gave her a small nod. Leila's face brightened and despite the sudden pain in her arm, she turned to James hopefully. James grinned, almost in relief.

"I'll go get him."

**X-x-X-x-X**

Sirius took in the sight of Leila as he arrived at the foot of her bed without a word. Leila stared back with an unreadable expression.

She lay on her bed, looking highly distressed. Her skin was tinged slightly green and her brilliant blue eyes were a tad crazed as she stared. The cut near her eye was almost gone and her arm was still bandaged. She smiled when she saw him and Sirius relaxed.

"Sirius." She breathed.

"Hey Beautiful." He said softly. Leila's lip trembled and a tear slipped down one cheek. Sirius hurried to her side and sat on the bed next to her good arm. "Shh." He soothed, putting one arm around her. He glanced up at the healers pleadingly and they both nodded before leaving them alone.

"You were right. You were right. It was my fault!" Leila sobbed, leaning into him. "It was my fault Jess died!"

"No!" Sirius said immediately, his voice catching. "No. Leila don't say that! Of course it wasn't you! Why would you think that?"

"I never should have trusted Regulas! I never should have led them all to the cave!"

"Leila any of us would have done the same if they were in the same position! And anyone could have believed Reg. This was not your fault!" Sirius wiped her cheeks with his thumb but his comment made her more upset.

"But it was him Sirius! It was Regulas!" Leila whispered. Sirius frowned. "Sirius Regulas killed her. Reg was the one who cast the curse on Jess! And I trusted him just like that and I actually thought it would help us! I knew, _I knew _that he was bad! I had-" She trailed off realising that Sirius had gone stiff and his face was pale. "What?" She asked, suddenly horrified that he was going to blame her too.

"You never said Reg killed her." He said tonelessly. Leila bit her lip.

"Oh… Oh Sirius. I'm sorry! I didn't think! Oh…" Leila trailed off and nuzzled her head against his collar bone in her attempt at an armless hug. Sirius remained stiff and he closed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Sirius…"

"He killed someone!" He whispered.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"He… murdered someone! He's a murderer." Sirius said blankly, as if he were unsure of the words.

"Sirius? Are you…? I'm sorry." Leila stared pleadingly up at him.

"He's only fifteen!" He choked out. A single tear ran down his cheek.

"Sirius…"

"_Fifteen_! Leila that's not right." He said, his voice cracking.

"I'm sorry." Leila whispered.

"It's not your fault." Sirius said calmly with a deep breath. He paused, then continued through gritted teeth. "_None of this_ is your fault! It's not any of our fault…" Leila sighed sadly, a few more tears running down her cheeks.

"Why did this happen to us?" She mumbled. Sirius frowned.

"I dunno… It's not fair. I'm so sick of this war."

"It's really a war now, isn't it? Not just some government crisis and a mad psycho?" Leila shivered.

"Yeah… At least I have you." Sirius leant down and pressed his lips to Leila's forehead and she closed her eyes.

"Let's hope it stays that way…"

They stayed like that for almost half an hour. Leila fell asleep after a little while and Sirius watched her with a sad smile. He cried –really cried- for the first time since the battle then, and somehow Leila's quiet presence at his side comforted him more than anything else could.

At the end of the half hour Leila woke and reached up to kiss him. He smiled at her and stroked her cheek with his hand.

"You belong with me, Sirius." She whispered. "Not them." Sirius smiled.

"I know… Now more than ever. They're not my family." He sighed, thinking of Regulas. "I don't have a family anymore.." Leila smiled sadly.

"You'll find them." She reassured him. And finally, after several times of simply believing her without really knowing how it comforted him, he finally knew. A hesitant grin spread across his face.

"I love you." He said quietly. Leila smiled almost curiously.

"Love you too."

Yes, this was one tough time Sirius might just get through Ok..

**A.N- **_Wow this chapter took me a long time!! Phew. I'm finally happy with the hospital bits! YAY!_

_Please review! Next Chapter: __**Funeral**_

_Toff.x_


	47. Chapter 47: Funeral

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty Seven- Funeral**

_Wednesday 16__th__ June, 1977_

The seventh year Gryffindors were unfortunate enough to have attended a fair few funerals together. But they'd never been to a funeral for one of their own.

The funeral was held in the chapel down the road from Jess's house.

They entered the church one by one, James in the lead. He was looking very smart and very pale. His face was drawn and his eyes were shining suspiciously.

Behind him was Leila, wearing the same black coat she'd worn to Remus's parents' funeral and the night her dad died. Her black hair was pulled back into an elegant bun and her face was tear-stained and crinkled into a pained expression. One arm was in a sling and she winced with every step.

Sirius followed her as close as possible, his eyes on her feet and his brow permanently furrowed. Lily was clutching tissues in both hands and was crying silently, the tears mingling with her loose hair.

Remus and Rose came in together, Remus pale and staring at the ground. Rose faint and sobbing into Remus's shoulder as they walked.

Peter bought up the rear, tears sliding down his cheeks silently. He made little eye contact with anyone and his shoulders shook with every breath he took..

Near the front of the church was a group of seven people that Leila had only seen in photos and heard of through Jess, Lily and Rose.

The first was a woman who was like an older version of Jess herself, with slightly different eyes and greying hair. It was Jess's mother; Annabel Jones-Parker. At her side was her husband (Jess's step-dad), Chris Jones, who was tall and broad with dark hair and dark eyes. In his arms was a squirming toddler- Jess's youngest half-brother. He was called Jack and had his mum's pale skin and eyes and his dad's dark hair.

Holding Annabel's hand was a small boy of about six. He was adorable! Jess's half-brother; Sammy. He had blonde curls and pale skin with big brown eyes.

And then there were Jess's step-brothers. There were three. Will, 17, the spitting image of his dad and looking very bored. Robbie, 14, with his dad's dark hair and broad shoulders but with light eyes and a strangely pointed nose. And Ben, 12, with a distinct snobbish air around him with the pointed nose and blonde hair along with weird pale eyes.

Annabel moved forward with Sammy at her side.

"Hello, you must be Jessica's friends from school." She said with sad, tear-filled eyes scanning the group and resting on Peter. "Of course I have met some of you." She added, glancing at Lily and Rose. "Thank you for coming." The others mumbled 'your welcome's and Leila's eyes filled with tears once more when she saw Sammy's big brown eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you for coming." He told them in a tearful little voice. Rose sobbed into Remus's shoulder and Lily took in a sharp intake of breath.

"You're welcome." Leila told him kindly. Sammy's bottom lip trembled as he nodded at her.

"Mummy." He whispered. Annabel sucked in a breath and picked him up, noticeable effort in her forced smile she used to comfort her son. Leila swayed on the spot and Sirius was suddenly at her side, accidentally bumping her injured arm. A random burst of pain shot up her arm and she gasped quietly before leaning into her boyfriend.

"Sorry." He whispered in her ear. Leila shivered. Then they all took seats and soon after the service began.

**X-x-X-x-X**

The service was horrible. Peter wept all the way through it. Remus kept glancing at him worriedly but most of his attention was on Rose. And of course Lily had James and Sirius had to follow Leila around so she wouldn't break!

Peter desperately wished he had someone who could help him get through all the pain. But unfortunately the lack of that person was what was causing the pain.

Jess's step-dad made the eulogy. Jess's mum sobbed through the whole service. There were many Hogwarts students amongst the others there but no one was as upset as Jess's mum.

Jess's half-brother Sammy was on the lap of Jess's oldest step-brother. The one she hated. The one who called her a freak. He looked utterly bored and entertained himself by annoying his brother Robbie. Peter glared at them through most of the eulogy but they didn't notice him.

Like Peter wasn't used to that. He sighed and gave up, returning to his own troubles.

Of course no one knew who had killed Jess. One of the death eaters of course… it had to be one of the death eaters. Peter glanced uncertainly at Sirius…

It was so easy to imagine him with slightly longer hair and a narrower face, with dark eyes and a pointed nose. With an almost invisible sprinkle of freckles and a smaller, skinnier build. It was too easy to notice the similarities between Sirius and his younger brother. And that made Peter nervous..

What was the only thing Regulas Black said when he returned to the cave that day? _"Is Sirius Ok?" _Was Sirius kidnapped, or perhaps taken willingly? What did You-Know-Who say about Sirius's dad? "_Orion Black was definitely right; Andrew Potter had always been a fraction more pathetic than his brother he worshipped so much." _It was Sirius's cousin who had held Sirius captive and cast 'crucio' on him? Sirius was always a good liar… good at faking things.

Peter saw Leila hide her face in Sirius's shoulder. He moved slightly so she'd be more comfortable and bent down to kiss her forehead.

Sirius loved Leila.. Was that love fake?

Peter thought of him and Jess together, the way her eyes lit up when she saw him, just as Sirius's lit up when he saw Leila.

No. Leila and Sirius were in love. That was true. That wasn't fake. So maybe Leila was in on it?

He thought back to after the quidditch match, the look on Leila's face when Sirius was 'missing'. He had read her so easily, seen from her face that she was worried about his whereabouts.. But then he remembered how he was briefly suspicious as he caught the ghost of a smile on Leila's face when he turned away.

He remembered how Leila had been the one who'd convinced them to go and fight.. convinced Jess to go and fight.. Leila and James. James who'd been so untroubled by Sirius's disappearance. So eager to trust Regulas Black when Leila suggested it.

Peter looked at Sirius, Leila and James. All of them had tears in their eyes. Guilty tears?

Peter blinked. No! He had to stop thinking like this! James and Sirius were his best friends! His brothers! And of course Leila never did anything wrong!

Sirius hated his family. He always had and he always would. He was always complaining about Regulas and his parents and especially Bellatrix Lestrange!

And Leila and James were Potters through and through! Potter's were the most loyal, cheerful and courageous families in history! They'd never been one placed anywhere other than Gryffindor!

He was being crazy! Death eaters killed Jess! It was death eaters.

A familiar, boiling feeling in his chest at the thought. Hate. He hated them!

A hand on his shoulder made him jump! He looked up to see Remus staring blankly down at him.

"Time to say goodbye." Remus said quietly. Peter took a deep breath. He glanced around, from the tear-stained faces of Lily and Rose, to the pale, expressionless faces of Remus and Sirius, to the pained, sympathetic faces of James and Leila. Leila smiled at him as their eyes met.

He looked at the family of Jess, off to one side. To Samantha and Josh in the row behind them and a bunch of professors at the back of the chapel.

He glanced at Remus and sighed.

"Yeah… Ok, let's go."

It was time to say his last goodbye to Jessica Claire Parker.

**A.N- **_Short I know but I really couldn't think of much else to say._

_Please review! I'll love you forever if you do! I never get reviews anymore :(_

_Toff..x_

_Btw:__ I made up the date at the top, it's just so you know that it's a week until the school term ends. The quidditch game and battle were on the Saturday just passed. :]_


	48. Chapter 48: Graduation

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty Eight- Graduation**

Friday morning, two days after the funeral, Leila, Sirius, James and Lily sat at the Gryffindor table.

They were relatively quiet. Lily kept sniffling into her cornflakes and James awkwardly tried to comfort her while eating his own. Leila sat with Sirius's arm round her shoulders. They quietly murmured to one another, never talking about anything particularly important. Every now and then James chipped in a quiet comment but Lily never spoke.

Many students from other years and houses were upset about Jess's death aswell and several people came to talk to them. Leila recognized a fair few from the funeral.

At the staff table, McGonagall and Dumbledore kept close watch on them, noting the usually cheerful group's lack of enthusiasm.

As Leila was finishing her pancakes, Remus, Rose and Peter arrived. Peter and Rose were talking quietly to one another. Rose looked tearful but her and Peter seemed relatively normal considering they were the one's taking the death worse. Remus slid into a seat next to Leila and smiled sadly. Rose and Peter sat opposite each other, continuing on with their conversation that Leila suspected was about Jess.

"Hey." Remus said lightly.

"Morning." Leila replied with a small smile. "What are they talking about?" She glanced at Peter and Rose. Remus looked vaguely concerned.

"Jess's family. Peter says her mum and step-dad have been arguing recently. I think he and Rose are in contact with one of them. Probably Jess's mum." Remus shrugged, trying to look casual. Leila bit her lip.

"'Kay... Oh. Mail." She looked up as if expecting an owl to come, even though she knew no one would write to her.

Two owls left letters for Peter and Rose and Lily got her _Daily Prophet_. Then, to Leila's surprise, one Hogwarts owl swooped past, dropping seven envelopes in the middle of the table and then leaving.

James's eyes widened and he and Sirius glanced at each other.

"NEWT results!" Remus gasped. Leila's mouth fell open and her hand darted out to grab the top envelope. It had _Peter Pettigrew_ written on it in deep green ink.

"Peter." Leila said, passing the envelope over. Underneath his was her own envelope, which she took before passing the pile over to Sirius.

Her hands shaking slightly, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the sheet inside:

_NEWT RESULTS_

_Pass Grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)_

_Fail Grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)_

_LEILA LOUISE POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:_

_Charms: A  
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O  
Potions: O  
Transfiguration: E  
Ancient Runes: E  
Arithmancy: O_

Leila breathed a sigh of relief. She passed everything she needed to become a trainee healer! She beamed and glanced round at her friends, all immersed in their own grades. All over the hall, other seventh years did the same.

"How'd you go?" Sirius asked in her ear.

"Everything I need! Three 'O's, two 'E's and an 'A'." She replied, handing him her grades. "What about you?" She asked. He passed her his grades. All 'outstanding's with one 'exceeds expectations' and one 'acceptable'. Everything he'd need to become an auror!

"Well done, love." Sirius murmured, pressing his lips to Leila's. Leila smiled against them and pulled herself closer with one hand.

"I _said_, Leila! How did you go?" James said loudly. They drew apart and Leila glared at her cousin who grinned casually back.

"Good thanks." She sighed, rolling her eyes before all seven of them started exchanging results.

"Graduation ceremony this evening then." Sirius said after everyone had finished congratulating everyone else.

"Yeah… Then, we leave." Remus added. Everyone sat in silence for a little while, thinking about that for a little while...

"Then we leave." Leila agreed. She exchanged glances with her friends and they all tried to look brave. But Leila knew they were all just as terrified as she was.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Parents and a few grandparents were all that attended Hogwarts graduations which were nowhere near as popular as they used to be. There were rumours of ruling them out as a Hogwarts tradition.

But for this year at least, it would commence. Dumbledore and the heads of houses would congratulate every student as they walked onto the stage-like platform that replaced the head table in the Great Hall. The house tables were replaced with small rows of seats much like a muggle cinema.

The front rows were separated into four groups: one for each house. Lily sat among her fellow Gryffindors and glanced towards the 'audience' section where Josh, Samantha and Lily's parents were chatting amongst other relatives, looking around the hall in awe. Lily spotted Peter's mother and one of James's uncles from his mother's side who'd been at the Potter's Christmas party. Also, Frank and Alice were sitting in the row behind Josh, chatting animatedly about something.

Dumbledore stood up at the 'stage' and cleared his throat loudly. He cast a quick charm on himself to make his voice louder and began a formal sounding speech: unusual for Dumbledore.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 1977, Hogwarts graduation ceremony. This year we celebrate the outstanding achievements of many students, some who could be here, and some who could not." A significant glance at the Gryffindor section made Lily's throat tighten. James squeezed her hand and she tried to keep her tears at bay while Dumbledore continued talking, speaking about the NEWT level curriculum and whatnot. After a few minutes she zoned back to hear his last few words. "And so, let us first congratulate the Slytherins!"

One by one they strutted arrogantly onto the stage, boys first, then girls in alphabetical order. Each student shook the hands of Professor's Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Gerig (head of Hufflepuff) and Slughorn. Slughorn gave every student a small talk on stage before they took seats at the back of the stage, clutching formal scrolls of parchment.

After the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, Gryffindor was up.

"Sirius Black!" Dumbledore called. Sirius smiled at his friends and stood up confidently, walking casually across the stage and shaking Dumbledore's hand. Dumbledore murmured something to him, as did McGonagall and Slughorn. Then he took a seat beside a solemn Hufflepuff girl.

"Remus Lupin." Dumbledore said. Remus took a deep breath and walked up. Dumbledore and McGonagall murmured comments to him. Slughorn eyed him warily and Lily tried to stifle a giggle as Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius before sitting down.

"Peter Pettigrew." Dumbledore called. Peter's walk was heartbreaking to watch. He was almost lifeless as he walked slowly across stage. Once again Dumbledore and McGonagall murmured comments.

"James Potter." James gave Lily a quick peck on the cheek before striding onto the stage and being commented to by Dumbledore, McGonagall and Slughorn, just as Sirius had. Lily was beginning to get curious about these comments and took a deep breath, knowing she was next.

"Lily Evans." Dumbledore said. Lily smiled and tried to stay confident as she had on her first day here as she sat down on the stool to be sorted. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he shook her hand and handed her a scroll of parchment tied with a scarlet ribbon. "You were a most outstanding head girl and performed well in all of the end of year events. I am proud to be your teacher and headmaster." He said to her quietly, Lily sucked in a small breath, knowing exactly what specific 'end of year event' he was talking of.

"Well done Miss Evans, I'm extremely proud of you." McGonagall said as she shook Lily's hand. Lily beamed at the praise from her favourite teacher.

"Miss Evans! It's been a pleasure teaching you! A real pleasure!" Slughorn rambled, smiling goofily. Lily stifled a giggle and went to sit next to James, pecking him on the cheek as she did so.

She glanced out into the audience and saw her parents beaming at her proudly. She beamed back and straightened up in her seat. Alice caught her eye and winked. Then movement caught Lily's eye. A man had just entered the hall, slipping through the heavy doors unnoticed. He looked at where Josh and Sam were sitting before smiling as the next name was called out.

"Rose Phillips." Rose walked elegantly onto the stage, her face held in a solemn expression. Lily grinned as she shook the hands of her teachers before coming to sit beside Lily. She sighed in relief as she did so and Lily cleared her throat meaningfully. Rose frowned questioningly and Lily nodded to the man at the back of the hall. Rose followed her gaze and stiffened.

"Dad." She whispered. She glanced at Josh who smiled proudly at her. Rose stared back almost in horror and glanced back at her father who nodded proudly, raised a hand in greeting and sat down.

Lily saw Josh's face darken in anger and Samantha put a careful hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breath and calmed down.

Meanwhile, Leila strode confidently on stage and shook hands with her teachers.

"And now." Dumbledore said, slightly louder than before, as Leila sat down with Lily and the others. "We would like to remember an outstanding student who will be forever remembered for her kind nature and delightful sense of humour. A treasured Gryffindor student, Jessica Parker, died just last week in a tragic death eater accident in Hogsmeade. Let us remember her together."

Then Lily felt her eyes fill with tears at the sudden, deafening silence that overtook the hall. Peter pressed one hand to his mouth to stop him sobbing and Rose bit her lip hard. Alice and Frank's cheerful smiles died and the silence carried on for several seconds before one of the Slytherins coughed.

The silence continued for another minute but the moment was lost. When Dumbledore broke the silence the Ravenclaw students were one by one invited on stage and after a brief concluding speech, Dumbledore invited the seventh years to enjoy their evening. Then several black and white banners burst around the hall and small tables of food appeared along the stage. The teachers left the stage and a small cheer came from the seventh years, the Gryffindors half-heartedly joining in. Then Lily stood up and tucked her scroll into her inside pocket, planning to accept Dumbledore's invitation the best she could.

**X-x-X**

Once everyone had settled into the 'celebration' mood and Rose's friend's attention were all elsewhere, Rose slipped away from Remus's side to go and find Josh. He'd stayed sitting after the ceremony; obviously expecting Rose to come to him.

She smiled half-heartedly at Samantha and slid into a seat beside Josh.

"Well done." Josh murmured automatically. "You did it." He smiled slightly.

"Dad's here." Rose said, ignoring his words. Josh's eyes snapped up to meet hers. "I assume you weren't expecting him?" She continued.

"Of course not! How dare he show up here! And now of all times!" Josh scowled.

"I'm going to go and talk to him." Rose said, surprisingly calm.

"What?" Josh yelped.

"I want to talk to him. And you won't be stopping me- and neither will Remus."

"But Rose, you can't talk to him! He- he rejected us because of something that was his fault in the first place! The man's a jerk!"

"But he's our dad, Josh. And I'm tired of not being able to see to him… I just want to speak to him for a few minutes. Okay?" She gazed at her big brother with pleading eyes. Josh stared back, stunned.

"No! It's bloody well not 'okay'!" He cried, outraged. Rose sighed.

"Thanks for coming Josh. I'll see you later." She kissed his cheek. Smiled again at Samantha and wandered away towards the back of the Great Hall. She could see him leaning against the back wall, staring in Josh and Rose's direction.

"Rose!" Someone called. Rose gritted her teeth in annoyance. It was Remus. He came up behind her and frowned questioningly. "Where're you going?" He asked casually. Rose looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes. She looked over her shoulder where her dad was and remembered the day Remus had met him.

"I…" Rose trailed off, looking back at Remus. Remus frowned.

"You were going to talk to your dad weren't you?" He asked quietly. Rose looked away. Surprise and hurt spread across Remus's face and Rose suddenly felt guilty.

As much as she hated that she never got to see her father, she knew that it would only hurt her and Remus if she did… She had to remember why he wasn't around anymore in the first place.

"I'm not going to talk to him Remus." She said quietly. Remus frowned. "I was… but I'm not going to."

"Rose, just because I-"

"No, Remus! What upsets you upsets me. And besides, he'll only make me feel worse if I do speak to him. We're in this together, and I won't talk to him." Rose took Remus's hands in her own and stared determinedly up at him. He looked a little shocked for a moment before smiling, almost in disbelief.

"I… I love you." He murmured, his voice rough with emotion. Rose smiled.

"I love you too." She whispered. Then Remus took her into his arms and kissed her.

**X-x-X**

About half an hour later, the seventh year Gryffindors were all sitting at a table with Alice and Frank, chatting casually about nothing in particular.

Sirius wasn't participating in the conversation; instead he found himself perfectly happy watching Leila talk and laugh with Alice across the table. Alice was in a strangely good mood today… so was Frank aswell, when Sirius thought about it. He could see their hands intertwined on the table, despite them having separate conversations.

Sirius looked at Leila as she listened to Alice describe something. Her black hair was in her eyes and she kept blowing the silky strands away from her eyes. Her eyebrows were very slightly creased as she concentrated. Sirius smiled dreamily… he wondered for the thousandth time since the battle whether he should ask her to move in with him.

He knew he wanted to live with her eventually, but wasn't sure if now was the right time. For some reason, asking her to move in with him just didn't seem like enough…

He was snapped from his thoughts suddenly when all conversation stopped and Frank cleared his throat. He squeezed Alice's hands and they both grinned round at everyone.

"Hey, well obviously we didn't come here just to see you guys graduate." Frank said jokingly. Sirius rolled his eyes and Alice slapped her boyfriend playfully on his arm. "Alice and I, came to tell you guys our announcement." Frank continued, turning to Alice and smiling at her lovingly. Sirius saw Leila's mouth pop open in surprise and her eyes dart to Frank and Alice's hands on the table.

"We're getting married!" Alice said joyfully. Sirius's eyebrows rose as everyone else on the table reacted loudly. Leila and Lily both squealed in delight and they crowded round Alice's left hand. James shook Frank's hand enthusiastically.

Everything seemed to have gone slightly blurry… Moving in with him didn't seem like quite enough… They were still so young… But it was a war, and who knows what could happen… Leila had already had her life threatened by Voldemort, and lost friends and family members to death eaters. Sirius loved Leila… maybe this was the next step for them.

"Isn't this exciting?" Leila's voice said in Sirius's ear, drawing him back to reality. Sirius turned to look at her smiling, beautiful face. She was so happy… Sirius wished she could always be this happy. He grinned at her.

"Yeah." He told her, "Really exciting."

**X-x-X-x-X**

That evening, Sirius and James were alone in the Gryffindor Boys' dorm. James was reading a book on quidditch while Sirius sat on his bed, contemplating Frank and Alice's engagement.

"Hey Prongs?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah?" James replied, looking up from his book curiously.

"I was just thinkin'… do you think I should ask Leila to marry me?" Sirius glanced at James who blinked, taken aback.

"Um… I dunno. Do you think you should ask Leila to marry you?"

"… I think I want to." Sirius said slowly.

"Then go for it. You both love each other. Why not? I think I'll probably ask Lily to marry me eventually." James said, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Really?" Sirius asked, not quite knowing why he was so surprised.

"Sure." James shrugged.

"Okay… I think I will ask Leila then…" Sirius trailed off, thinking of an old ring his Uncle Alphard had in his apartment… a family heirloom Alphard never had the need to give to anyone. It was pretty, and perfect for Leila. He started envisioning all the possible ways to propose… James grinned.

"That's great, Pads." He said. Sirius smiled absently. There was a short pause.

"Hey Prongs?"

"Yeah."

"If she says yes, will you be my best man?"

James laughed. Sirius frowned at him.

"If she says yes." James scoffed, then smiled solemnly at Sirius. "And, yeah… thanks Padfoot."

**A.N- **_Ta-da! What'd you think? That chapter took me a while to tidy up, as you probably gathered from the time it took me to update!_

_Please Review!_

_**Toff.x**_


	49. Chapter 49: In The End

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**Chapter Forty Nine- In the end**

The following Wednesday was the last full day of school. Leila woke up early as usual and stared up at the hangings of her four-poster bed. Around her everyone was still sleeping. She yawned and sat up. Although the seventh years had no lessons today she was planning to visit a few of her favourite teachers to say goodbye before she left for good.

It was hard to imagine that just last year she lived in the modern and elegant Fascini Academy of Magic, looking forward to coming to Hogwarts and seeing her cousin, James. She never saw herself feeling very sad upon leaving Hogwarts, well not as sad as she'd been upon leaving Fascini. But somehow the single year she'd spent at Hogwarts was enough for her to become even more attatched to school life than six years at Fascini had done.

Leila had had only three close friends in Italy; Alexander, Fabio and Charlotte. They hadn't had a lot in common with Leila but they were great friends. However, after moving in with James, contact with them had fallen away and she no longer missed them as much as she once did.

Hogwarts was her school now. England was her home and the Marauders were her closest friends, along with Rose, Lily and Je- _Rose and Lily. _Leila mentally corrected herself and flinched.

She sighed and stood up, casually making her bed with a flick of her wand. Then she bit her lip and double-checked that her roommates were still asleep before forming a hurried plan in her mind. Grabbing a parcel from under her mattress she pulled on some robes and left the room as quietly as possible.

**X-x-X**

Albus Dumbledore was not surprised when he received an early morning visit. He was, however, relieved. He'd been worrying that young Miss Potter would perhaps keep her secret a secret for much longer than she had… And that would be troublesome for many.

"Come in!" He called as the expected knock came at his office door. Leila Potter entered the room shyly, clutching a package in her hands.

"Good Morning, Miss Potter. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Albus said, smiling knowingly.

"Um. Morning Professor," She said quietly. "I, ah, came to talk to you about… Jess. And the battle. And my father's notes."

"Ah. That is quite a line up." Dumbledore said with a kind smile. Miss Potter managed a small smile in return. "What would you like to know?"

"Well… ah." Miss Potter thought for a bit, then seemed to gain confidence and spoke up. "I suppose something we've been wondering is, um, why haven't the people involved with the battle been more severely punished?" Albus raised his eyebrows; he hadn't been expecting that question first.

"Miss Potter, I am sure you are aware of the care Professors McGonagall and Slughorn and I have been taking to not expose the full extent of this matter to the rest of the school?" He began. Miss Potter nodded. "This is mainly so as not to frighten the younger students, however, it is of course to do with keeping up appearances. But the thing Professor Slughorn is most worried about is that the story of your encounter might… encourage other students to follow the example of the older, Slytherin students involved." Miss Potter frowned.

"So… James and I and all the others… we're the only students who know about those people being involved?" She asked. Albus nodded. "Right...I suppose that makes sense. But have they been punished more severely, away from the public eye?"

"I assure you, Miss Potter, we have done everything in our power." Albus peered at Miss Potter over the top of his glasses and she nodded thoughtfully. There was a short silence.

"Professor, will Voldemort come after me?" She asked, almost fearfully.

"I highly doubt it. With the notes gone, and the encounter you had being reasonably well known throughout the general public; of Hogwarts at least, it would be unlikely that Voldemort would pursue the matter, since it is of quite low importance compared to some other objects of his desire."

"What else does he want?" Miss Potter's eyes widened curiously.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that."

"Oh. Okay…" Miss Potter paused and lifted up the parcel she held in one hand. "Sir, about my father's notes… I… there's still these. I made a second copy." She looked almost guilty. But Albus smiled.

"Ah, yes. I wondered whether you might have. I Assure you Miss Potter that Voldemort and his death eaters do not know nor suspect that the copy exists."

"But how do you know?"

Albus smiled, thinking of the members of the order who'd figured it out for him. "I'm afraid that is another thing I cannot tell you." Miss Potter accepted this calmly and Albus admired her for that. She placed the parcel on his desk.

"Sir, hopefully next week, I'm going to be applying to start training as a healer, like my father." She began, Albus nodded and smiled at her. "And… I think that once I know some more things about healing potions, I might try and piece together my father's notes." She stopped here, glancing at Albus as if expecting him to say something. He merely nodded to indicate that she should continue. "But… I know how important the notes are and I won't be using them often and not for a while so, is it possible… maybe, for me to keep them with you, here at Hogwarts… I mean it's the safest place I can think of."

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Albus said calmly. Miss Potter looked relieved, and then concerned once more.

"A-and would I be able to visit here occasionally, to have a look at the notes… for my study?" She asked hopefully.

"That seems perfectly acceptable." Albus replied and Miss Potter sighed; relieved again. "…Miss Potter, may I ask which of your friends know of you doing this?"

"None yet, Professor. I don't really know what to tell them."

"That's quite alright… was there anything else you wanted to know? Anything you want to tell me?" Albus met eyes with Miss Potter who stared at him confidently.

"Not yet, Professor. But I'm sure this won't be the last time me or any of my friends come for your help." She said firmly.

"I see. Very well then. I will wish you good luck, and goodbye, Miss Potter." Albus stood and smiled, picking up Miss Potter's parcel and nodding to her. Miss Potter smiled widely.

"Thank you, Professor… for everything." And with that, she left the office.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Leila arrived in the Great Hall to find her friends already there, eating breakfast. Sirius spotted her when she entered and smiled brightly, then his face assumed a thoughtful, deliberating look.

Leila frowned and made her way over to the Gryffindor table. It appeared that Peter, Lily and Rose were all in very quiet moods, indicating that they were thinking of Jess. For this reason, Leila opted to join Remus, James and Sirius's conversation about plans for the day.

When Leila was halfway through her large plate of pancakes, Rose suddenly spoke.

"Hey Lils, you know how I wanted to be involved in law at the ministry?" She said, drawing the attention of Leila, James, Sirius and Remus. Lily looked up in surprise.

"Erm, yeah?" She answered uncertainly.

"…Do you think I'd make a good auror?"

"Err…" Lily looked surprised. "Well, yeah, of course! You're great at Defence against the Dark Arts, and you're smart enough!" Rose looked down, as though she hadn't wanted that answer.

"Josh thinks I should try and be an auror." She mumbled. Remus put an arm round her.

"And why not? I think it'd be a great job for you!" He encouraged.

"Well… I thought so too when Josh first suggested it." She closed her eyes as if in pain, "But since the battle…" She trailed off. Remus shifted closer to her and pressed his lips to her hair. She took a deep breath. "I just don't think I can do it!"

"Then don't!" Leila said, "Don't do something that'll make you unhappy."

"But it just seems like the perfect job for me!" She said, still uncertain. Lily sighed.

"Rose, for one, no one needs to do a job just because it seems like that's what they're cut out for! I mean, everyone says I'd be a great healer and I don't think I'd mind healing people, but I just don't think I'd be able to be in that kind of atmosphere all the time. And two, these are confused times; you know I wanted to be a journalist! But you think I'd go and apply for a job in the Daily Prophet now, with the kind of junk their writing about at the moment? If Voldemort-" Peter winced, "- took over the ministry being an auror would be a terrible career! And if you don't feel comfortable fighting all the time aswell, then I don't think you should do it unless it's something you really, really want."

"Like I do." Sirius added. Rose looked at Sirius, and her uncertain face broke into a small smile.

"Yeah… Okay. I'll find a better job… Something more suited to me!" She smiled and kissed Remus on the cheek, then went back to eating breakfast in silence.

**X-x-X-x-X**

That afternoon, the seventh year Gryffindors sat in their favourite spot out in the grounds, idly chatting about apartments and living arrangements for after tomorrow. Lily and Peter were both going to stay with their families for a little while. Rose planned to stay with Josh and Samantha, but felt that she shouldn't stay too long since she might intrude on their privacy. So she was searching for an apartment to move into after living with Josh a few weeks. Remus, James and Leila had found a muggle, three-bedroom apartment that they planned to share but Leila didn't want to stay there too long, as she was hoping to find a place of her own. Sirius had a one-bedroom apartment that had once belonged to his Uncle that was in good condition and in Diagon Alley. It was of reasonable size and in a very convenient location so he'd decided to move in there.

Peter soon became tired of the relatively cheerful conversation of his friends so he made his escape as soon as possible, claiming he needed the toilet and walking away briskly. Most of his walk was spent wondering in annoyance how his friends could be so happy after what had happened!

As he entered the castle, he passed Regulas Black. He looked weary and jumpy and froze in mid-step when he saw Peter. Peter froze too and they stood there in the corridor, staring at each other. Regulas looked like a deer in headlights, and Peter couldn't help but notice how much he looked like his brother.

Guiltily, Peter looked away and Regulas shot him a sympathetic glance. There were footsteps and Peter heard Snape's voice.

"Come on, Black! What're you standing here for?"

Peter's head snapped up and he found himself looking at _two _death eaters, both staring straight at him. A slight glimmer of fear ignited deep within him, but he quickly shook it away angrily.

_These people killed Jess! _A dark part of his mind growled. Peter glared fiercely and to his surprise, Regulas and Snape both stepped back.

"Get out of my way!" Peter spat; barging passed roughly and purposely elbowing Regulas.

The two boys stared after him in absolute shock.

**X-x-X**

Severus smiled cruelly as Pettigrew vanished from sight.

A confused, weak, grief-stricken teen, desperate to avenge the murderer of his loved one… He could make this work to his advantage!

"Hurry up, Black! We've got some good news to report."

**X-x-X-x-X**

That evening the Marauders, Leila, Rose and Lily sat around the common room fire together for their last ever evening at Hogwarts. They talked for a long time about all the good times they'd had together over the year. Then James recalled the time the Marauders had met. Lily laughed and kissed James's cheek when he told the part when he and Sirius had called Snape 'Snivellous' for the first time and Lily had gotten angry and stormed off.

"Ah, the first of 982." Sirius sighed reminiscently. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "No, really!" Sirius added, "I started keeping record three weeks into first year, once it had happened five times I wrote a tally to tease Prongs… Then Wormy, Moony and I kept it going! Moony found a tally spell in second year; look! Accio James's tally!" A piece of rather tattered parchment flew into Sirius's hand and he held it up. On it was a shining number: '982'. Leila burst into giggles as James and Lily both turned pink.

"We're bringing that out at your twenty-first, Prongs!" Remus snickered.

"And your wedding!" Sirius added. Rose finally broke and her mildly amused smile turned into a loud laugh at the look on Lily's now bright red face. James glared at Sirius who winked. Leila giggled and Sirius smiled warmly down at her.

"Hey, remember the day we found the kitchens!" Remus said cheerfully. James and Sirius laughed reminiscently and Leila smiled. Rose said something quietly to Lily and they both fell into their own conversation of memories of their own from before seventh year.

Sirius glanced down at Leila to see her looking slightly miffed at all the talk of things she hadn't been in the country for. But he knew she wouldn't want them to stop on her account. He smiled warmly, and thought of his talk with James the other day.

"Hey everyone... Mind if me and Leila take a walk?" He asked. The group around them agreed absently and Sirius tugged a surprised looking Leila away with him.

As they climbed out of the portrait hole, Sirius took an old bit of parchment out of his pocket and grinned at Leila as they headed down the corridor together.

"You know, I believe this is one Marauder secret I've never mentioned... Watch." He took his wand out and placed the tip on the old parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Leila watched in awe as the Marauders Map unfolded before her. Sirius smirked. "Come on, we're off to the kitchens." He flipped the map to show the kitchens.

"A map of Hogwarts!" Leila said, impressed. "And is that something moving there?"

"Yeah. It shows everyone in the castle! Cool, right?"

"Amazing! Where are we on it?"

"Right, here. Look. 'Sirius Black' and 'Leila Potter', right beside-" Sirius cut off in horror and looked up to see someone at the far end of the corridor, walking straight towards them. "Filch!" He yelped. "Mischief Managed!" He added in a whisper to the map.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" Filch grinned nastily and seeming thrilled to have caught one of his worst enemies after seven years of almost constant detentions. Sirius bit his lip.

"Err. Hi there, Filch. What brings you here this fine evening?" He asked, only a little bit nervously. Filch's grin widened.

"It's after curfew, Black! And what do you and your little friend have there?" His eyes lingered gleefully on the disabled map in Sirius's hand.

"Spare bit of parchment." Sirius said without hesitation. Leila looked down and was astonished to see that he was right!

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it!" Filch narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Sirius smiled and held the parchment up to prove his point. Filch glared and snatched the disabled map from his hand.

"Hey!" Sirius cried. Filch grinned at him.

"Bit of a loud reaction to losing a bit of old parchment, eh Black?" He enquired meanly. Sirius stared at him in horror. "I'd give you detention, but I think this is punishment enough, seeing as you won't be back next year to get it back." And with a final nasty grin, he left.

Leila bit her lip. "Should we just carry on to the kitchens?" She said quietly. Sirius sighed sadly.

"Yeah, I s'pose." He replied.

The house elves were ecstatic to be able to make the couple hot chocolates, which they took and asked awkwardly if they could have some time alone. The house elves willingly agreed and all left to go and clean the Great Hall.

There was a few seconds of silence before Leila spoke.

"So why'd we come down here?" she asked. Sirius paused thoughtfully.

"I dunno really. I thought it'd be nice if we had some time to ourselves." He said softly. Leila grinned and shifted closer to him.

"Yeah. That'd be nice." She chuckled softly before leaning in to kiss him. Sirius pulled her onto his lap so she was closer and weaved his hands through her hair. "I love you." She murmured when they broke apart. Sirius tilted his head at her.

"I love you too." He replied. She smiled and he stared up at her almost in awe… Part of him was telling him to get his act together and ask her now, but another part had better ideas. "Leila, I was thinking… do you want to move in with me tomorrow, instead of staying with James?" He asked.

Leila's eyes widened and she stared blankly at him for a second before her face split into a brilliant smile.

"Really?" She asked hopefully. Sirius nodded. She started to smile wider, then paused, her brow furrowing. "Sirius, isn't your apartment one bedroom?" She said. Sirius grinned.

"Yes."

Leila giggled and leaned in to kiss him.

**A.N- **_Erm. Well I don't actually know what to say.. Last chappie's next up!! AHHH! Its called __**The Real World**__.. coming soon! Please review, xx_

_Toff..x_


	50. Chapter 50: The Real World

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!**

**A.N- **_So this is it. The LAST CHAPTER!! Are you nervous, coz I am!! I really, really hope you've enjoyed my story and thank you to all who have followed Leila all the way through! You are my favouritest fans!! ;) So, here we go: enjoy_

**Chapter Fifty- The Real World**

The train ride home passed surprisingly slowly and in relative silence… No one really knew what to talk about. Each of them were absorbed in their own thoughts.

Leila was very tired, having stayed up late with Sirius. She was leaning against him now, thinking dreamily of living with him!

Sirius himself was biting his lip and replaying in his head over and over his plan for later that day and trying to predict exactly how Leila would react…

James sat by the window and stared out of it blankly. His mind wandered through memories of his time at Hogwarts… and memories of his parents. Lily sat beside him, trying and failing to read her book without her mind drifting off to thoughts of Jess.

Remus sat by the window aswell, his head against the glass and his eyes closed. He was asleep and for good reason. It was a full moon that night and he had to transform with just James there in animagi form in the spare bedroom in their apartment. Rose was beside him, her head in her hands. She was being eyed worriedly by her friends as her shoulders shook delicately but no one could figure out if she was actually crying and no one dared disturb her.

Peter was squashed in the spare corner, as far away from everyone else as possible. His mind kept going back to the thoughts he'd had during Jess's funeral and this time he couldn't stop. He kept glancing at Sirius and seeing him as Regulas… as the enemy. He knew what he was thinking should be making him guilty but it just fit so perfectly… He shivered, trying to shake the thoughts off but failing miserably.

Only a few words were spoken. The silence was comfortable however, despite it being sad. Leila suspected that it would be sad even if the battle had never happened. After all, it wasn't just a school they were leaving, it was a home.

**X-x-X-x-X**

When they arrived at platform nine and three quarters, everyone climbed off the train with their luggage and paused awkwardly in a small huddle on the platform.

"Um, so I'm getting a lift home with Mum." Peter mumbled. "I… I'll see you all soon?"

"Yeah." James said firmly. "We'll catch up on Saturday! Me and Moony's place? Right?"

"Right." Peter looked down as he said it. "So I'll see you guys later."

Rose smiled and Lily gave him a small, awkward hug. Sirius, Remus and James all said brief goodbyes and, feeling for some reason a lot more sad about leaving Peter than she should, hugged him and smiled.

"Hang in there Pete. We'll seeya soon." Peter avoided her gaze and walked away into the crowd. Leila frowned concernedly after him, as did Remus and James.

"I better go too. Bye everyone." Lily said, considerably more cheerful that Peter. She hugged everyone and kissed James before taking a deep, nervous breath and leaving aswell.

Rose sighed. "I'll see you all on Saturday." She said quietly before almost hurriedly saying her own goodbyes, promising to visit Remus and leaving abruptly.

"Right." Leila said with an air of finality. "I suppose it's just us then. We'll see you Saturday?"

James nodded. Leila took a deep breath and hugged Remus goodbye before turning to her cousin. To her surprise, her eyes filled with tears.

James smiled and hugged her tightly. Leila pecked his cheek and stepped back with a trace of her Potter grin.

"I don't know why I'm crying." She laughed tearfully. "I'll see you Saturday." James grinned at her.

"I love ya, cuz." He said, sounding very brotherly. Leila playfully punched his shoulder and stood back with Sirius who smiled and exchanged a meaningful glance with his best mate before he and Leila clutched their bags tightly and apparated away to Diagon Alley.

**X-x-X**

Now that goodbyes were over and Sirius and Leila were standing together outside of the door to their apartment, Leila was quite excited.

"Ready?" Sirius asked with a mischievous grin. Leila grinned back and nodded. Then, with a dramatic flourish, Sirius pushed the door open to reveal their new, fully furnished apartment.

Leila beamed and followed Sirius inside, throwing her trunk to one side as soon as she entered. She squealed excitedly and looked around the apartment, trying to see everything at once.

"Like it?" Sirius asked, closing the door behind them.

"Love it!" Leila turned, grinned at him and went to the window to look out at their view of Diagon Alley.

It was simple, with a small living area joint to a kitchen and dining area. The living area was furnished with two small couches and a coffee table and on one wall was a large fireplace, complete with a pot for floo powder.

On the opposite wall, Leila saw a door slightly ajar. She assumed this was her and Sirius's bedroom. With a small, excited giggle she turned around and beamed at Sirius once more.

He smiled back and then nervously ran a hand through his hair. "So… it's all furnished… including the bedroom, we have _the_ most amazing bed!" He winked at Leila who walked over to him and kissed his cheek before grinning cheekily, her eyes travelling to the bedroom door. He smiled. "Go ahead; it's all ours." He told her. Leila grabbed his hand and towed him along behind her.

Sirius took a deep breath as she opened the door and Leila froze in her tracks at the sight within.

"Sirius? What's this?" She asked, staring around the room. Sirius chuckled.

"It's our bedroom." He replied. Leila spun around and eyed him suspiciously. Sirius's expression wavered nervously for a second before he smiled at her.

The bedroom was empty. Completely and utterly blank. No furniture; no amazing beds. All that decorated the room was a number of floating candles and a single, tiny black box, hovering mid-air in the middle of the room.

"Sirius Black, what are you playing at?" Leila asked incredulously. Sirius put one arm round Leila and guided her a few steps forward, so that she stood about a foot away from the hovering box. Leila glanced curiously at Sirius who gestured for her to take it.

She did so, and gasped. As soon as she had picked up the little box a huge, soft, beautiful plush bed appeared in front of her and the whole room began to furnish itself. Leila looked down at the box and felt something stir, deep within her heart.

_Oh Merlin… He's not… _She flipped open the box to see the most beautiful engagement ring she'd ever set eyes on; it was as if someone had entwined two thin rings, one gold and one silver together. Then, atop the band, was a large, shimmering sapphire gem. _…He is!!_

"Oh gosh! Sirius!" Leila turned around to find Sirius on one knee. Tears blurred her vision and her lips curved into a disbelieving smile.

"Leila. I love you… So much! And I want to make you the happiest woman in the world! The same way you've made me the happiest man in the world! So, Leila Potter, will you marry me?"

Leila's eyes shone brightly and she knelt down herself to be at the same level as Sirius. Unable to stop herself from smiling, she nodded tearfully.

"Yes. Oh Merlin yes!" She answered. Sirius's smile seemed to light up the room, better than the candles and he took her face in his hands and kissed her. "I love you." She murmured as they broke apart. Sirius grinned and slid her ring onto her finger before staring into her eyes adoringly. Leila beamed back at him.

"I love you too." He said softly. There was a small pause, in which they stared into each other's eyes, almost in a trance, then Sirius's smile turned gentle. "You know how whenever I was sad about my family, you'd always tell me that I'd find them?" He asked. Leila nodded. Sirius leant forward to whisper in her ear.

"I think I just did."

__**X-x-X-x-X**__

That Saturday the Marauders and the three girls arrived at James and Remus's apartment, each of them with their own stories of how job interviews and such were going. Leila and Sirius announced their engagement and there was much excited squealing from Lily and Rose.

The evening passed, relatively happily. Rose was very quiet and Peter completely silent. A mixture of fear and excitement hung in the apartment as they talked of living life in the real world.

But one thing seemed to keep them smiling. It was strange. No one could quite put their finger on what it was that made it so cheerful that night. But James had a word to describe it with. A word he hadn't used in a while. A word that described the atmosphere of that night very well:

_Leila-like._

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**A.N- **_There it is.. The end. Sequel will be up in due course, probably around the beginning of January once xmas, my bday and end of year exams are over!.. But for now, I leave you this (an epilogue in poem form- kind of)…_

**No One Messes With A Potter**

**By Toffrox33**

_The Marauders and their Girls:_

One will watch as another falls  
Then in revenge, betrays them all.

One will pledge to never stray  
But slowly they will fade away.

One who lost all faith in friends  
Will find that some love has to end.

And the one who caused their love to hate  
Will die young through tragic fate.

Two will be killed by the Dark Lord's hand  
And together will make their final stand.  
The two will fight, their lives they'll give  
To ensure another lives.

But one must draw their final breath  
And sentence another to worse than death.  
And in that other, guilt resides  
As they are left to live a lie.

_Thank you all so much for everything!! You're the best!_

_REVIEW!!!!!!!!!_

_**Toff..x**_


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